An Update on an Ohio County’s “Waste Mall” Proposal

That’s a lot of information we’ll be privy to in a short amount of time,” Medina Service Director Nino Piccoli said. “That’s a lot to digest. I would need input from (Medina City) Council.” Piccoli is one of four members of the MC-18 Work Group, along with Robert Patrick, Wadsworth service director; Colene Conley, York Township trustee; and Sarah Mathews, Rumpke Waste & Recycling Services, of Broadview Heights, a private solid waste industry representative.

Members of the Solid Waste Policy Committee include county Commissioner Adam Friedrick, chair; Paul Barnett, Brunswick service director; Jim Likley, Westfield Township trustee; Jeff Plumer, public representative; vice chair Thomas K. James of the Medina County Park District, a citizen representative; Dan Burlinghaus, MTD Products Inc., a solid waste generator member; and Colin Johnson, Medina County Health Department.

All the parties involved, Piccoli said, want to achieve the same goal. He said they want the convenience of curbside drop-off at the lowest cost possible with the highest rate of recycling.

Optiva President Ed Kwiecien has said all of the county’s trash and recycling would be brought to the waste mall, a for-profit endeavor, and 60 percent to 80 percent of it would be diverted from a landfill. Some of the recycled materials would be turned into products on-site, such as mailboxes, pellets and energy.