BAD AXE — Thumb Industries has announced that its recycling program has been discontinued following a lack of financial support from the county and declining commodity prices.

In a letter sent to the Huron County Board of Commissioners dated May 20, Executive Director Rhonda Wisenbaugh said that without financial support from the county through a millage or funding appropriation, the service would be discontinued.

“Our agency is proud that we have kept millions of pounds of recyclable material out of our local landfill since the inception of our program,” the letter reads. “The consumers that we serve have had the opportunity to be involved in job skills training and employment opportunities while working at our recycling center.”

Wisenbaugh had previously told the Tribune that the decreasing price of recycled commodities affected the amount of money that is brought in. In early 2020, they were receiving $30 per ton of cardboard, compared to 2014 and 2015 when they received $130 per ton. This fall in prices is in part due to China not buying as much of America’s recycled materials as it used to.

The recycling center closed on March 21 when the initial COVID-19 stay at home order was in effect and has not reopened since.

Thumb Industries had already planned on cutting the number of days the recycling center was open down to Tuesdays and Thursdays in March before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Michigan.

There was also a shift in funding coming from Huron Behavioral Health, as people with mental disabilities were employed at the recycling center to sort out the materials. HBH wanted to get those individuals competitive jobs.

“At this point, we are working with consumers and staff that worked at our recycling center to have them potentially work in other areas in our organization or find competitive placements in the community,” Wisenbaugh said.

Wisenbaugh met with the commissioners back in January addressing the program’s revenue and their expenses.

“We also provided them information we received from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality regarding other recycling programs and funding sources such as millages that the county could pursue to help fund the program for county residents,” Wisenbaugh said. 

Thumb Industries was active in trying to get community support to save this program, encouraging residents to contact their county commissioners on how vital this service is and having a petition for them to sign. Wisenbaugh said those petitions received approximately 2,000 signatures.

The recycling program has been going on since 2009 and has kept more than 13 million pounds of recyclable materials out of landfills.

Wisenbaugh said that the only way this recycling program could return is through a millage or other funding received from the county.