Recycling programs set to begin in Meriden and Valley Falls

by Clarke Davis

The communities of Meriden and Valley Falls will soon have recycling programs available.

S.M. Ball Waste Disposal Inc. will provide containers in a central location in each of these towns.

The communities of Meriden and Valley Falls will soon have recycling programs available.

The program will begin Feb. 1 in Valley Falls and either March or April in Meriden, according to Shawn Ball, company owner.

The city council in Valley Falls agreed to start a program a month ago and Meriden officials approved the program at a meeting last week. The residents in these communities will be charged $1 a month for the program.

The collection site in Valley Falls will be next to city hall off Walnut Street. Locations in Meriden are still under consideration.

Two large containers will be provided by the trash firm and each of them has 13 compartments that will be labeled to describe the type of material they accept.

One bin is for all plastic with one exception: No plastic bags.

“Plastic is the biggest item,” Ball said. “Everyone has a milk jug along with pop and water bottles.”

The bottles and jugs do not have to be rinsed, but Ball said they should be empty.

“We don’t want someone to throw half a gallon of milk in the container,” he said.

One bin will have three compartments for glass divided by color; One each for browns, clears, and greens.

“We do not accept broken glass, such as a broken window or mirror,” he said. “Nothing sharp.”

Shawn Ball

There will be a compartment for tin cans, one for newspapers, one for catalogues and magazines, and one for phone books.

Residents will not be able to discard any kind of cardboard ranging from corrigated boxes to a cereal box. To accept cardboard would cost residents another dollar a month and both councils have decided not to do that at this time.

There is also no compartment for aluminum. “We don’t want a scavenger problem,” Ball said. He said there are a number of charities who will accept aluminum.

“We can always upgrade the service,” Ball said.

He has submitted prices that range on up to $3 and $5 a month for residential curbside depending on the level of service and frequency of pickup people want.

S.M. Ball contracts waste disposal in all eight Jefferson County cities along with Lecompton. The company presently has centralized recycling in Perry, Oskaloosa, and Lecompton.

Ball said they have all worked out real well with no mess and he and his workers keep close tabs on them.

Shawn Ball is a Perry native and has been in business since 1990. He and his wife, Tiffany, have five employees and eight trucks. The company headquarters is located east of Perry on what was formerly known as the Gottstein property.