SIDNEY — “This year’s Super Saturday Recycling Event was the most successful ever,” Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst announced following the wrap-up meeting held recently. “We set a record for the number of those bringing recyclable materials to the event, and records in nearly every collection category!”
A total of 365 vehicles brought more than 27 tons of no longer needed medications, books, documents to be shredded, and electronic materials. The event was held on April 16, 2016, at the Shelby County Fairgrounds.
The event is co-sponsored by the city of Sidney, the Shelby County Commissioners, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Minster Bank, the Sidney-Shelby County Health Department, the North Central Ohio Solid Waste District, Shelby County Libraries, the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, the Shelby County Agricultural Society, the Sidney-Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Goodwill Easter Seals of the Miami Valley (GESMV).
The project began five years ago, when GESMV approached Barhorst with the idea. GESMV recycled electronic devices, providing full-time employment for more than two dozen workers at their Dayton facility. This year, GESMV collected a record 37,600 pounds of electronic waste.
In the second year, Minster Bank joined the effort providing the opportunity for member of the community to securely shred documents. Since that time, thousands of pounds of documents have been shredded. This year, 5500 pounds of paper were recycled through the effort, the equivalent of saving 44 trees.
In the third year, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and Shelby County Libraries came on board. The Sheriff’s Office collected pharmaceuticals for safe disposal. Shelby County Libraries collected no longer needed books.
This year, the Sheriff’s Office collected 100 pounds of drugs. Shelby County Libraries collected 11,000 pounds of books. The books were separated into three categories: books that could be added to the library’s collection; books that could be sold in the library’s annual book sale; and books that would be recycled because they had no other value for the library (i.e., sets of encyclopedias).
“Despite the success, we were concerned that this might be the last year for the event,” Barhorst said. “With the potential that GESMV would no longer participate, e-waste was the bulk of what we collected.”
Following this year’s event, GESMV Managing Director Dennis Osterfeld advised the mayor that this would be the last year that GESMV will participate in the event.
“Goodwill will not do this event next year,” Osterfeld wrote in a brief e-mail. “I would like to thank you and the total group for all their help over the years.”
“Fortunately, Fourth Ward Councilmember Steve Wagner has made contact with a private company that may be willing to step in and take GESMV’s place,” the Mayor stated. “If we can make those arrangements, we will schedule Super Saturday VI in 2017. Being positive, it might seem that a logical date would be Earth Day (Saturday, April 22, 2017).”
“Certainly the committee would like to thank all of those who assisted with this year’s event, as well as those who brought materials to be recycled: Goodwill Easter Seals of the Miami Valley, Minster Bank, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Shelby County Libraries, the North Central Ohio Solid Waste District, Shelby County Libraries, the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, the Shelby County Agricultural Society, the Sidney-Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, the Sidney-Shelby County Health Department, the Shelby County Commissioners, the City of Sidney and the Shelby County Recycling Center,” Barhorst stated. “We want to give a special thanks to Lehman Catholic Football Coach Dick Roll and the Cavalier football players who helped with the heavy lifting, and to Menards for donating gloves for the workers to wear,” Barhorst said.
