LEXINGTON, KY (Dec. 4, 2019) – Lexington will ring in the new year with an investment in recycling to improve efficiency and reliability.
To upgrade equipment, the Lexington Recycle Center will be closed briefly between Jan. 6-19. Lexington’s Division of Waste Management will not collect the material in residential recycle carts during this time. Citizens are encouraged to hold their recyclables until collection resumes the week of Jan. 20.
“These changes are long overdue,” said Nancy Albright, Commissioner of Environmental Quality and Public Works. “The new equipment will prevent breakdowns and make our service much more reliable.”
The closure is due to the installation of a new conveyor belt and a fire protection system. The main conveyor belt that feeds material through the sorting process is overdue for replacement. New heaters to improve the work environment will be installed at the same time. In addition, the closure will allow the city to perform preventive and routine maintenance on equipment that is not being replaced.
Other improvements anticipated in January include a replacement “eddy current separator” to more efficiently sort aluminum cans, new gas lines to supply fuel for the heaters and new water lines to supply water for a mister system that was installed over the summer.
These upgrades are part of a $2 million investment program in the Recycle Center that started earlier this year.
Central Kentucky residents can support the recycle program by recycling right. Only put plastic screwtop bottles and jugs, glass bottles and jars, steel and aluminum cans and dry cardboard in your blue recycling cart. No plastic bags, ever. Unwanted items can harm equipment and put employees at risk.
Paper should still be put in the trash can. Lexington continues to explore options for paper recycling, and expects to make an announcement soon.
Private haulers and communities that bring materials to the Recycle Center will determine their own process for the shutdown period. Information for residents served by those entities will be posted on LexingtonKY.gov/RecycleUpdates as it becomes available.
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