Klamath Falls, Ore. – A Klamath Falls company that provides jobs for the developmentally disabled will soon be helping tackle the county’s recycling problem.
Recycling costs have been on the rise across the country.
But ‘REACH, Incorporated’ could soon help to ease the problem in the Klamath Basin.
Executive Director Ron Moe explains: “REACH has offered to build a facility inside as part of our operations, to help sort recycling.”
Klamath County Commissioners pledged 125 thousand dollars Wednesday morning to help purchase a recycle sort line from a facility in Roseburg.
“It’s basically a large belt that you run the mixed recycled products across, and people pull out the recyclable stuff.” Moe explains. “And then it gets bailed up and sent off.”
Moe says the expansion of operations at REACH will also provide more jobs. “We believe that over a two year period, it will put anywhere from eight to ten full time employees to work here in the basin at good entry level jobs.”
County Commissioners plan to explore state funding and grant options for the project.
Moe notes that it will take a few months to set up the machinery. “It will be springtime before it’s up and operational, sometime in March I would guess.”
Stricter recycling standards in China is a key factor to higher costs.
Waste Management customers in Klamath Falls are now paying $1.22 more per month for curbside recycling than they did a year ago.
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