Literally tons of recyclable materials pass through the doors of the Boyle County Recycling Center on the Danville bypass. Trucks haul 30- and 40-yard container bins stuffed with cardboard, paper, plastic, tin, aluminum, glass and even discarded electronics that have been collected at the county’s four convenience centers to the facility.

Some truckloads come from area public schools, colleges and even Northpoint Training Center where they also are participating in recycling programs.

Residents who want to recycle but don’t have curbside pickup can separate and drop off their items at any of the four Boyle convenience centers or the recycling center on the bypass.

Ralph Smith, manager of the center, said everyone should recycle because it keeps usable garbage out of the Tri-County Landfill in Lincoln County. And it helps bring in a little money to the county government when it’s sold to other companies.

For example, large bales of crushed cardboard are sold to Central Kentucky Fiber located near Lexington. Paper collected and stored in a semi trailer until it’s full is sold to and picked up by a company near Springfield, which turns it into home insulation. Mixed plastics are baled and sold to a company in Richmond.

According to Smith’s records, the tons of recyclable materials collected and sold in 2017 were (in tons): glass, 38.7; plastic, 21.98; aluminum, 2.21; steel, 5.31; newspaper, 102.86; magazines, 18.44; and cardboard, 609.62. The total is 811.14 tons collected in 2017, and kept out of the landfill.