Milford Township's recycling bins were immaculate this past week, by comparison to the mess that piled up over the 4th of July weekend

MILFORD - With the recent problems at the recycling center in Milford Township and the township supervisors requesting the county take away the bins at the township site, the county is looking to get out of the recycling business. Forbes said that the commissioners have contacted Charles Steuhl and Waste Management, among others, to negotiate taking over Pike County recycling.

Expenses for Pike County recycling have been running close to income as of the beginning of August. Commissioner Harry Forbes reported that as of August 4, 2008 the county spent $190,691.48 for recycling expenses. This includes the cost for personnel and vehicle maintenance. The county took in $112,275 from landfill tonnage fees and $87,513 from Monroe County for the recyclable materials Pike County sold to them.

Pike County began its recycling program with grant money from the state. “We have received no grant dollars for recycling in the last three years. We anticipated getting $400,000 in grants and didn’t get any this year,” said Forbes. “It’s getting to be extremely expensive for the county to run the program,” he added.