City of Lake Ozark residents will continue to get free recycling at Laclede Industries’ Waste Watchers.
The board of aldermen has authorized a donation of $5,000 to Laclede Industries of Lebanon to subsidize the recycling center on Valley Road so Lake Ozark residents can take qualifying recyclables for free.
Only weeks after the 2020 agreement was approved, Waste Watchers fell victim to COVID-19 and was forced to close until later in the spring. But the demand didn’t diminish, and the recycling center is back in business thanks in part to the city’s support.
The new contract is effective April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022. Laclede County, home county of Laclede Industries, has a similar agreement for free recycling.
Note: The free service is only for City of Lake Ozark residents. Proof of residency is required.
Non-residents welcome
Non-residents can use the facility as well but will pay a small fee as follows:
•$3 per 13-gallon bag of paper/plastic/tin.
•Punch cards are available on site: A $10 card buys 10 13-gallon bags; a $25 card buys 10 30-gallon bags.
Waste Watchers is currently accepting cardboard and aluminum cans for free.
Here’s what’s accepted:
•Plastic
Items must be clean and sorted.
Accepting Number 1, Number 2 natural, Number 2 colored.
•Cardboard
Waste Watchers accepts corrugated cardboard. Items must be clean and broken down.
Waste Watchers offers convenient trailers for cardboard recycling to businesses for a monthly fee.
•Paper
All items must be sorted: Newspaper, magazine paper and black and white
Tin and Aluminum
All items must be rinsed well. Remove labels.
•Waste Watchers does not pay for aluminum cans.
•Waste Watchers does not accept colored paper of any kind. No paper bags, wrapping paper, tissue paper, construction paper, carbon copies, etc.
Hours
Waste Watchers, 43 Valley Road, is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. every Tuesday, weather permitting. In order to qualify for free service, City of Lake Ozark residents must bring a current utility bill showing they are Lake Ozark residents, or a card that is available from City Hall, 3162 Bagnell Dam Blvd.
For more information, call 417-588-3242; or go online to https://www.lacledeindustries.com/recycling.
Expanded recycling?
Alderman Dennis Klautzer asked if the city has considered expanding its trash service to include recycling. He said the current recycling regulations are somewhat restrictive.
Mayor Gerry Murawski, who serves on the Laclede Industries Board of Directors, said the cost of adding recycling would be prohibitive to residents. China, once a major paid recipient of U.S. recycling materials, has changed its policies. That makes finding a reliable source challenging and costly, Murawski explained.
“I just wish we had better solution,” Klautzer offered. ‘It’s important, and I don’t feel we’re filling the need. It’s a difficult, difficult situation not only for us but other cities as well.”