Chris Walch argues that mess is a good thing. So while the storage at the East Central Missouri Recycling Center appeared to be a little chaotic last week with bins two high in some places and overflowing in others, that just means business is good. One year after the recycling center opened, Walch, the facility manager, is pleased to see interest has grown in recycling which means less trash in landfills. Since opening last April 22 — on Earth Day fittingly — the center has collected 204.08 tons, or 408,160 pounds, of recyclables. The facility provides free recycling service for residents of Warren, Franklin, Lincoln and Montgomery counties. Boonslick Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) is operating the center, located about three miles south of Warrenton on Highway 47, with funding from the East Central Missouri Solid Waste District and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. “I expected to do good, but not this good,” Walch said. “We’re doing great. New people are rolling in all the time. We are still growing and people are still learning we’re here.” Cardboard has been the most popular product to be recycled in the facility’s first year, with 43.99 tons (87,980 pounds) having been received. Paper is a close second at 43.73 tons (87,460 pounds), while over 20 tons (40,000 pounds) of glass have been dropped off. Included in the first-year collection was 50 tons of tires which was part of a one-time event for Warren County residents arranged with DNR. Some of the other recycling items that are accepted include plastics, waste oil, white goods, aluminum, food cans and any electronic with a cord. Computer monitors and televisions are also accepted, though for a $15 fee. Separate bins for each product line the inside of the recycling center’s building. Much of the success enjoyed in the past year at the recycling center has come unexpectedly outside the property’s gates. Each Tuesday, Walch makes around 30 stops at local businesses who save their recyclables, primarily cardboard, to be picked up and discarded at the facility. Some of his Tuesday trips have taken him as far as Hawk Point and Jonesburg. Walch noted that a business’s willingness to recycle has allowed owners to save money in the long run. For example, Eagle Activewear, an apparel printing business located in the industrial park in Truesdale, has gone from paying for a 20-yard dumpster to using a 5-yard dumpster now that Walch stops by weekly to pick up its cardboard. He said he’s willing to make more stops as business owners get interested in the free service. “I always want more product,” Walch said. The recycling center’s operating expenses for the first two years are being covered by grant funds, with the hopes the facility will be self-sustaining thereafter. For now, BRPC Executive Director Steve Etcher said the facility is currently above the curve in regards where it needed to be within the first year of operating. “It’s exceeded our expectations,“ Etcher said. At the time the facility opened, “you were not sure what the consumer response was going to be.” Etcher stated that it remains possible the property where the recycling center sits could be sold to the solid water district or BRPC in the future. The property is currently leased by BRPC and owned by Warren County, which purchased the land for $275,000, because the solid waste district is prohibited by law from buying property. While 90 percent of the customers have been from Warren County, Walch estimates, he said people have traveled to the center from as far away as Silex, Montgomery City and Rhineland. “I have some regulars,“ Walch said. “I hear a lot of compliments that we’re here and providing this service.”