In spite of early press release, county negotiating contribution to pay city for collecting recycling

QUINCY — A press release from the Adams County Health Department on Monday said the recycling collection locations in Camp Point, Liberty, Medson and Payson will end in June. Residents in those communities were instead encouraged to use the Quincy locations at the HyVee at 1400 Harrison, Home Depot at 5432 Broadway and Refreshment Services Pepsi at 1121 Locust.

Alderman Jeff Bergman (R-2) noted the press release during Monday night’s Quincy City Council meeting, asking, “Are we talking with the county … as far as trying to partner with them with the recycling program?”

Mayor Linda Moore replied that she has been talking with the Adams County Board.

“If they are publicly telling people to use … our sites, then I think the county should have a financial contribution to help us keep up those sites,” she said.

However, as of Monday, no plan for a financial contribution was officially in place. Bret Austin, chairman of the Adams County Board, confirmed after Monday’s meeting that the county will be contributing funds to the city to pay for the increased volume in recyclables.

“We’re looking at somewhere between $30,000 to $40,000 for this first year to transfer into their program for picking up increased recyclables,” he said.

“We’ve had a couple of conversations that the county wants to contribute,” Moore said after the meeting. “We welcome their contribution. I think we’re a little bit far off from what they want to contribute and what we want, so we need to have those conversations.”

However, Monday’s press release certainly caught aldermen — and the mayor — by surprise by encouraging county citizens to use the Quincy locations before a deal to share the cost is struck.

Austin noted the press release was not supposed to go out yet, but there was “some miscommunication.”

The need for consolidation comes with the revelation that the Quincy recycling centers are designed for use by Quincy citizens but are often being used by county citizens.

The city collected 2,881,180 pounds of plastic, paper, cardboard and glass from May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024 — a 56 percent increase from the 1,730,500 pounds collected from May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. A report submitted for Monday’s meeting by Kevin McClean, director of Central Services, said the city collected 3,430,551 pounds of recyclable material from May 1, 2024 to April 30, 2025 — a 19 percent increase from last year and nearly twice as much from two years ago.

“It’s a very successful program, and the metric tons (of recyclables) have almost tripled,” Austin said. “And there’s no way that a consistent, maybe even slightly declining population of Quincy … that triple the volume is coming from the same amount of residents. So it’s obvious that people from the county are bringing their stuff.”

“I think we all know there are probably people who live in the county who have been using the recycle (program), but to have mayors from other communities say, ‘We know they’re doing it,’ that just kind of confirmed what we thought,” Moore said after the meeting.

The success of the program is measured by more than just the increased collection volume. In comparison to the curbside method, the recycling center program costs less and produces a more valuable product. The recyclables are separated, so the city gets a premium price for them.

The press release may have jumped the gun, but both the city and county officials seem to believe a plan to share costs is on the way.

“We will come to a deal,” Moore said. “I have no doubt.”