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Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District discussed a proposal for a permanent tire recycling solution in a meeting Tuesday, Oct. 20.
“We are at a place that we are just giddy about here,” said Tom Ganser, executive director of KC Recycling. “Now that we’ve got that nice paved driveway … let’s talk about bringing a tire solution for Kosciusko Waste here.”
Ganser presented a proposal from Liberty Tire for a tire “cage,” which is 7 feet wide, 7 feet tall and 16 feet deep. The cage, if approved, would be staged behind the household hazardous waste building for access via the paved driveway.
The implementation of the cage would also mean the elimination of the tire week events, as residents of Kosciusko County would be able to bring in tires year-round for free, pending a determined limit per household.
The cage would need to be tarped to prevent excess water from creating a breeding ground for mosquitoes, as the Indiana Department of Environmental Management requires tire collections to be stored in covered containers, Ganser stated.
The container itself also has a cage-top roof and would be loaded with tires from the side.
Ganser discussed the costs with the board, stating that the cost per load is $1,000, with transportation costing $2.50 per mile. He added that the load would need to be transported “roughly 50 miles,” making the cost of transportation approximately $250 round trip.
When renting the cage, going over the 60-day limit would cost $100 per month.
“We pay $300 per month for the electronics trailer, just to give you another idea,” Ganser said.
He said the cage would hold around 350 passenger tires and that, rather than being a self-service container, KC Recycling employees would help residents load the tires into the cage.
“Tractor tires, we probably won’t get that much, but your cost per tire is about $3.86, when we just look at averages,” Ganser said.
Currently, KC Recycling uses a tire trailer, which costs about $4.02 per tire. Additionally, Janelle Meyer, the education and outreach coordinator for KC Recycling, stated that the trailer’s transportation fee “already went up” for next year.
“Long story short, to put in the permanent solution is actually a little bit of a cost savings for us,” Ganser said.
Kosciusko County Commissioner Cary Groninger asked Ganser if he thought the 60-day limit was “reasonable.”
Ganser said he did, explaining that the four tire weeks this year had ended with full trailers.
“I think the need’s there,” Ganser said. “We’ll advertise it … I really think we’ll be OK.”
Ganser also discussed the possibility of opening up the tire limit to include tires of any size.
“I guess we can try,” Ganser said. “Why not? If we see that it’s a safety concern …”
Groninger also questioned the “worth of the investment” but stated he would be willing to try it for a year.
After some further discussion, KCSWMD approved entering into a one-year contract with Liberty Tire to use a tire cage. The cage is intended to be installed by the end of November.
In other business, Winona Lake Town Councilman Barry Andrew asked Ganser about Ganser’s recent effort to find someone who incorrectly left metal scrap by the tire week trailer on Friday, Oct. 16. Ganser reported that the incident was recorded and stated he only wants to “educate people” on the correct procedure.
He said residents’ compliance with the rules has improved over time.
“Barry, it’s night and day from when I first got here,” Ganser stated. “We would come in here and the south end of the building would be filled with electronics, chemicals; people just dumped on us. At least now, we’ve got a majority of people not doing that.”
KCSWMD also:
• Heard from Meyer about the last shredding day, which was Oct. 7. Forty-eight people brought items in and approximately 2,700 pounds of paper was collected, making a yearly total of 284 people using the service and 14,260 pounds of paper. That was an increase of 60 people from last year. KC Recycling will potentially have shredding events on Saturdays next year to bring in more people.
• Approved a salary ordinance for 2027 with a 3% salary increase.
• Approved paying $3,090 of the remaining cost for the paving project that was not included in the initial budget.
