(MEDORA) – Rumpke Waste & Recycling unveiled its newly expanded Medora Recycling Center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday.
The 9,520 square foot facility, located at 546 South County Road 870 West, features a larger tipping floor to accept recyclables, push walls to better contain material, and an overhead enclosure.
The expansion was partially supported by a $175,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Recycling Market Development Program. Rumpke invested an additional $175,000 in the project.
“Rumpke is committed providing access to recycling services for residents and businesses in Jackson and surrounding counties, and the Medora Recycling Center is an important part of that mission,” said Steve Sargent, Director of Recycling for Rumpke. “With increased recycling volumes and stricter quality standards in place, these upgrades will provide the capacity necessary to effectively process good, clean material for years to come.”
Since opening in 2017, the facility has processed nearly 22,000 tons of cardboard and residential recyclables. Loose cardboard collected from area schools, businesses, and institutions is baled at the Medora facility and shipped to Pratt Industries in Valparaiso. Residential material is transported to the Medora facility, compacted, and sent to Rumpke’s regional recycling facility in Cincinnati, Ohio for final processing.
“We’ve developed long-term marketing contracts with end users in the Midwest – many of which are right here in Indiana – who accept recyclable material to create new products,” said Sargent. “The effects of a circular economy are on full display in Indiana and we’re proud to play a role in helping fuel that process through the Medora Recycling Center.”
The following household items are accepted in Rumpke’s residential recycling program:
- Plastic bottles and jugs
- Glass bottles and jars
- Cartons (milk, juice broth)
- Metal cans (aluminum and steel)
- Mixed paper products (junk mail, magazines, phone books, newspapers, cardboard, clean pizza boxes and paperboard)
Rumpke owns and operates 11 recycling facilities, including the Medora Recycling Center, and processes one billion pounds of recyclables each year. In the past 10 years, Rumpke has invested more than $60 million in recycling infrastructure throughout the Midwest.