SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): The privately-owned Tygart Valley Recycling Center has closed permanently. The announcement was made by Clark Martin, Chairman, Randolph County Solid Waste Authority yesterday during the Commission’s regular meeting held at the James F. Cain Courthouse Annex. The reason for the closure is cited as purely finances, he noted.

The facility was formerly known as Randolph County Recycling Center, when operated by Joe Gum. It was taken over by Sterling Daniels in 2022. The operations at the facility have been temporarily suspended following a site accident in July this year.

According to Martin, it is getting harder for smaller recycling centres to survive. Firstly, there are only a very few places that are willing to buy recyclable materials. Also, the money offered by the buyers to the centres are too low for the recycling centres to stay afloat amidst rising costs of doing business.

People often misunderstood that the recycling center is run by the County Commission or the solid Waste Authority. They were unaware of the fact that it was run privately.

Meantime, as a temporary solution, Martin proposed that residents could take their metal recyclables such as aluminum cans to Elkins Iron and Metal. Also, the bin behind the city garage could be used for dropping bottles.