Recycling bins in Delano get an upgrade

Recycling at the Delano Transfer Station has been successful, and Sunrise Disposal, the contracted solid waste hauler in the area responsible for the recycling bins there, is working to make it easier.

Recycling bins were placed outside of the Delano Regional Transfer Station in January of 2020.

Earl Cole, who runs Coulee View Mobile Park in Electric City, hauls recyclables from tenants there to Delano. 

Cole told Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout about the difficulty of placing the goods through the small openings in the bins. Kohout relayed that issue to Dion Gotti, who runs Sunrise Disposal, who said to Kohout, "Let me see what we can do."

Sunrise Disposal employees then crafted a type of ledge that hooks onto the openings to the recycle bins and allows someone to place their bag or bucket onto it to more easily pour the recyclables into the opening. 

"Sunrise is out to help people, and they solve issues," Kohout said. "They did this on their own time and dollar." 

Kenny Cyr of Sunrise, Kohout, and Cole met at the bins Feb. 12 to try out the new device. 

The device will be kept in the Delano Regional Transfer Station office within the gates during operating hours. A user must ask for it and use it by attaching it to whatever bin they need it for, be it tin cans, aluminum cans, mixed paper, or #1 or #2 plastics. 

Cole said that he appreciates the recycling service because it keeps a lot of items out of his dumpster and he no longer has to jump up and down on the contents of his dumpster to smash it down in order to fit more. 

He makes weekly trips to the bins, collecting recyclables collected by the 17 or so tenants that live in his mobile park.

Cyr said that the recycling program has been successful, and that, with the bins having been there for over a year, more recyclables have been coming in, with the two bins needing emptying about once a month.

He said Sunrise is beginning to take the goods to a recycle center near Davenport. 

"It's been going great, I like it," Cyr said about the recycling program. "It helps the community and keeps a lot out of the landfill too."