Trish Bennett, Editor
CIRCLEVILLE – Residents looking to cash in scrap metal or aluminum cans will have a little farther to drive after March 31 when Rumpke consolidates its Circleville buy-back center with its Chillicothe location.
The Circleville center, located at 1097 U.S. Route 22 West, will no longer pay out cash for these items and instead will offer a public drop-off location for paper, cardboard, bottles, jars and cartons, according to Jonathan Kissell, spokesman for Rumpke.
Scrap metal, aluminum and other recyclables can still be turned in for cash at the buy-back center at 990 Eastern Ave., Chillicothe.
Steve Sargent, director of recycling at Rumpke, said the company appreciates the support of its Circleville buy-back customers over the past 25 years.
“Within the last decade, there has been a shift from buy-back recycling to residential curbside and drop-off recycling programs,” Sargent said. “Today’s advanced technology makes recycling much easier and allows our customers to mix their recyclables together. By adding another convenient drop-off location at our site, more Circleville residents will have greater access to recycling.”
Kissell said Rumpke has made significant investments in its recycling infrastructure to accommodate those growing needs, and the shift away from buy-back recycling led to the decision to consolidate the two locations.
“Over the next few weeks, we will install containers for drop-off materials, and there will be no payback for those items,” Kissell said. “That will be the only real change at the Circleville location. The existing office building will continue to be used as an office building, and we may even transition a few employees from our other office on Island Road to the building on Route 22.”
The four employees from the Circleville recycling operation will remain employed by Rumpke at other locations, according to a press release issued Monday.
Officials said Rumpke will continue to maintain a strong presence in Circleville with 75 employees, including drivers, mechanics, customer service representatives, managers, supervisors and office personnel. Its Circleville hauling operation consists of nearly 40 trucks serving the trash and recycling needs of residential and commercial customers throughout central Ohio.
Kissell said the installation of drop-off containers at the Route 22 facility will not affect other established drop-off locations in the area, like the one at the Circleville Fire Station on North Court Street.
“We have an agreement through the Ross-Pickaway-Highland-Fayette Solid Waste District to provide multiple drop-off locations in those districts and provide these containers in convenient locations,” Kissell said. “We will continue to provide those through that arrangement.”
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
