FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) — The site of a proposed Venango County Recycling Center is still up in the air.
(Photo: Venango County was hoping to use the old Sears Automotive location at the Cranberry Mall for its proposed recycling center, but Cranberry Twp. wouldn’t approve a zoning change so the site for the center is now up in the air)
In June, the Venango County Planning Commission believed it had a viable site set for Cranberry Mall in the old Sears Automotive portion of the building. But the Cranberry Township Supervisors, after getting a recommendation from the Cranberry Township Zoning Commission, decided not to change the zoning in the area.
Since then, Venango County has been studying its options, and Venango County Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Jason Ruggiero told exploreVenango.com last week that the County is still hoping to work with Cranberry Township to find a location within the township but that time is running short on getting that accomplished.
“We would prefer it to be in Cranberry Township,” Ruggiero said following the Sept. 10 Venango County Commissioners Meeting. “But, we need to find a location (soon).”
Erik Johnson, the Planning Commission’s Recycling and Solid Waste Coordinator, told exploreVenango.com this week that the County would like to have a site picked by the beginning of 2020.
“That would give us a full year to bud out any upgrades to the site that might be needed and get the equipment we need,” Johnson said.
The grant the County received to put in a recycling center stipulates that it must be up and running by January 2021, although Johnson said the County could ask for an extension.
“We are looking to not ask for the extension on the grant, but we may need too,” Johnson said. “You can ask for extensions, but you aren’t guaranteed to get the extension.”
COUNTY TO HOLD TWO RECYCLING EVENTS IN COMING WEEKS
Venango County will be holding a pair of recycling events at the Cranberry Mall in the coming weeks.
On Saturday, September 28, there will be a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)/Electronics Collection event from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the rear parking lot of the Mall behind Ollie’s Bargain Outlet.
Some of the HHW collected, according to Johnson, are paints, batteries, fluorescent lightbulbs and other household chemicals, while electronics include computers, computer peripherals, televisions and some smaller appliances like dehumidifiers but not the bigger appliances. A complete list of what is being collected along with a fee schedule can be found