(Publisher’s note: my sincere apology to Sybil Kolon on the incorrect spelling of her name.)
Twenty years after asking Chelsea area residents to sort and separate paper from cardboard, rigid plastics from glass bottles; that’s no longer the case.
Wednesday, Feb. 6, officials from the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority held an official ribbon-cutting for the new $3.5 million, 17,000 square foot building and gave about 25 people from the member municipalities and the county a first-hand look at how the new single-stream operation works.
Sybil Kolon of Manchester Township, vice chairman of the WWRA board, was given the honor of cutting the ribbon, while Frank Hammer of Chelsea, gave a history of WWRA then and now.
Chelsea City Manager John Hanifan said, “I think this is great for the region and great to have this state-of-the-art facility.”
Hanifan said, “I’m happy for Frank. He’s dedicated a lot of his adult life to making this facility a reality.”
Mona Walz said, “The best thing about this is the increase in participation in recycling.”
Hammer said that during October and November, WWRA had to ship its recycling materials to Ann Arbor while the new equipment was installed and tested. During that time, WWRA’s tonnage intake increased by almost 200 tons. In 2011, WWRA took in 3,104 tons and in 2012, the facility took in almost 3,300 tons.
For the last six months, Hammer said, Phil Bolyard, WWRA’s manager, and the 9 full-time employees and 12-person work crews, have “kept recycling going around all the new equipment and I really thank these guys.”
