On April 10, Rumpke’s Cincinnati Recycling Center sustained millions of dollars worth of damage during a two-alarm fire.

Despite this set back, Rumpke remained committed to recycling and quickly developed a plan to ensure recycling service continued for our hundreds of thousands of Greater Cincinnati customers.

Since the fire, materials normally processed at Rumpke Recycling Cincinnati were collected as usual and hauled to a section of Rumpke’s Colerain Township Landfill not currently being used for disposal. The items were unloaded and reloaded onto tractor trailers for transport to Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, recycling facilities. However, beginning this month, recyclables will take a new path to regional recycling facilities.

In an effort to improve efficiencies and eliminate the potential for customer price increases, Rumpke has temporarily leased the Este Avenue Transfer Station in Cincinnati, just minutes from our Cincinnati Recycling Center. At the transfer facility, Rumpke Recycling trucks will unload recyclables onto the floor inside the building. The materials will be loaded (within a 24 hour period) and transferred onto larger trucks that will haul the material to regional recycling facilities.

The transfer station is still a temporary solution. We are moving as quickly as possible to get our Cincinnati Rumpke Recycling facility up and running again. We are committed to continuing to bring the most advanced recycling services available.

Please continue to check our blog for updates about our recovery. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at Facebook or Twitter.

About the author: Molly Yeager is the senior corporate communications coordinator at Rumpke.

It’s on the radio, television, web and in the papers. Rumpke’s Cincinnati Recycling Center caught fire at around 5:30 p.m. on April 10. Material outside the facility ignited, and high winds quickly moved flames to the interior of the processing building. Fortunately, employees safely evacuated. Rumpke’s service continues without interruption, but with the Cincinnati processing center badly damaged and reconstruction expected to take months, many customers might be wondering how is Rumpke really recycling?

Rest assured Rumpke is recycling your materials. At the scene of the fire, just moments after firefighters arrived, Rumpke management and team members quickly devised a plan to ensure uninterrupted customer service. Rumpke’s plan involves adjustments for Rumpke dispatchers, drivers, safety professionals, scale house operators, information technology experts and site managers. However, customers will notice no changes at the curb.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               1. Recycling trucks are being re-routed. Those picking up recycling in the northern areas of the Greater Cincinnati region are transporting the materials to Rumpke Recycling in Dayton, Ohio.

2. Most of the other materials picked up throughout the rest of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will be transported to non-disposal area of Rumpke Sanitary Landfill (pictured below).  No we are not putting the recyclables in the landfill! We are moving them from the smaller collection trucks to larger tractor trailers to efficiently haul them to regional recycling facilities like Rumpke Recycling in Columbus, Ohio (pictured to the left).

3. Rumpke’s recycling operations were insured as well as related expenses. The price of recycling service will not be impacted by this incident.                                                           

Rumpke is continuing to explore a variety of options to ensure this process is completed using the best means possible. As adjustments are made, we will communicate them to our customers.

Throughout this challenging time, we can’t thank our customers enough for their support. We also wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to the 15 fire departments that responded so quickly and assisted in the safe extinguishment of the fire.

The fire was tragic, but over the years Rumpke, like many other business has encountered its share of hardships, and just like we’ve done before, we will recover better and stronger. We’ve been recycling since our company began and nothing will ever change our commitment to preserving the environment for generations to come. After all, that’s why customers count us and we’re not gong to let them down.

Learn more about Rumpke Recycling’s other recycling sites.

Rumpke Recycling Dayton, Ohio

Rumpke Recycling-Glass Processing, Dayton, Ohio

Rumpke Recycling Columbus, Ohio

 About the author: Amanda Pratt is the director of corporate communications at Rumpke.

Since Rumpke’s humble beginnings in the 1930s, the Rumpke family has been helping its customers reduce their waste stream through recycling programs.

Earlier this year, Rumpke launched an organics recycling program for commercial businesses in the Greater Cincinnati and Greater Dayton areas, allowing customers to divert items such as cafeteria food waste from their waste stream.

More than a dozen area business locations have already added the service and Rumpke representatives are meeting with dozens of other businesses and institutions interested in further reducing their waste stream.

Recently, Rumpke Vice President Jeff Rumpke had this to say about the new recycling initiative:

“At Rumpke, our goal is to be the total waste solution provider,” said Jeff Rumpke, Vice President. “We want to help our customers find ways to properly dispose of all of their unwanted items through innovative recycling programs and disposal at our environmentally sound landfills. We are pleased to partner with Future Organics and local composting farms to offer our customers yet another way to recover material from their waste stream and help achieve their sustainability goals.”

One of the first companies to add the organic recycling program in the area was P&G. Learn more about their efforts by reading this article in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Learn more about Rumpke’s organic recycling service and if you are interested in adding the service – click on the request service button on the left.

About the author: Molly Yeager is a corporate communications coordinator for Rumpke.

A well-managed landfill can be an important asset to a community. Medora Landfill Manager Ralph Collins is dedicated to operating a safe and environmentally friendly landfill that is considerate of neighbors in Jackson County, Indiana.

After talking with neighbors recently, Ralph reduced the speed limit for trash trucks to 20 miles per hour, as they enter and leave the landfill.

“We want to be a good neighbor,” said Landfill Manager Ralph Collins. “Our goal is to operate in a safe manner, while keeping noise and litter to a minimum.”

Several projects have also been underway to improve the landfill’s appearance and reduce impact. For example, visibility at the Landfill’s entrance from State Route 50 has been improved with a new sign, flag pole and re-graded slope.

In December, Rumpke installed a wheel wash that trucks drive through after unloading trash at the landfill. The wash uses recycled rain water to rinse mud off the tires, and it has been keeping surrounding roads cleaner.

“Last year, we earned an environmental stewardship award,” Collins said. “We are working our hardest to exceed this achievement and see what we can accomplish this year.”

Owned and operated by Rumpke since 1983, the Medora Landfill accepts municipal solid waste and construction demolition debris. In November, the Association of Indiana Solid Waste Management Districts (AISWMD) selected the Landfill for an Environmental Stewardship Award.

To learn more about landfill operations, check out these videos.

About the author: Sara Cullin is a corporate communications coordinator at Rumpke.

Each week, I have the pleasure of leading tour groups through our Cincinnati Material Recovery Facility (recycling center). Each group stands in awe of how a series of machines and workers quickly separate hundreds of tons of recyclables by type. But what amazes groups even more are some of the weird items – like shoes or dog houses – that our customers try to recycle.

Our recycling team recently compiled a list of some of the strange items our customers have tried to recycle over the years. Here is our top 10:

1. VHS video cassettes

2. Family Photo Albums

3. Bowling Balls (as well as tennis balls, baseballs, basketballs, etc)

4. Lingerie

5. Chain Link Fencing

6. Power Tools

7. Toilets

8. Refrigerators

9. Prosthetic leg

10. A Nile Monitor Lizard (we called the Cincinnati Zoo to collect this one)

We applaud our customers for making the effort to reduce their waste and increase their recycling; however, trying to recycle the wrong items often leads to damaged equipment and other problems in the recycling facility.

Please review our acceptable items list, and as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. Also, feel free to ask your questions on Facebook or Twitter.

About the author: Molly Yeager is a corporate communications coordinator at Rumpke.