WMEA RECYCLING

ABOUT WMEA

WMEA Program, has been serving Paulding County since 1988 when the State of Ohio mandated that all Ohio counties divert waste from landfills, and form solid waste districts. Paulding County was teamed up with Defiance, Fulton and Williams Counties to form the Four County Solid Waste District.

A plan was created to raise awareness about the Program by engaging the school districts.  A competition was created to see which school could collect the most amount of materials to be recycled.  The competition began every September with an all school presentation. Volunteers from the schools would gather the materials, sort them by category and put them into semitrailers.  Those trailers would then be taken to the recycling center to be weighed.  The winning school with the most tonnage would receive a traveling trophy that was made from recycled materials.

Over the years the program has evolved from using a 15 foot box truck to two 28 foot enclosed trailers and “Big Red” our 15 seat passenger van that has been outfitted to meet the needs of the program. With the help of Boy Scout Troop 315 and The Leaders of Tomorrow 4-H Club, the concept of and the absolute need for recycling is being handed down to the next generation. By participating in the Program the students from Paulding County are learning in a “hands on” fashion what it means to reduce, reuse and recycle as they serve their friends and neighbors.