The owner of a $4.5 million facility in Apalachin that was destroyed by fire over a week ago is again offering reassurance the company will rebuild.

(Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
(Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
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The president of Southern Tier Recycling, Robert Taylor, Junior issued a lengthy statement January 13, again maintaining the fire January 3 that destroyed the 30,000 square foot facility on Route 434 was caused by a crushed lithium battery or a discarded mobile telephone.

Taylor says to allow the uninterrupted collection and processing of recyclables in the area, the company has re-purposed the adjacent waste transfer station. In order to take in those materials until the new facility is built, STR will charge a fee to accept recycling material consistent with previous volumes.

Taylor says the area’s recycling programs will continue to be unimpeded and it’s expected the $5-million reconstructed facility will be operational in the last quarter of this year.

The statement goes on to say that, with a change in the handling of recyclables, including a drop in the price for recycling products and China forbidding the importation of much of the U.S. recycling material, the company is currently paying around $157 a ton to have the Southern Tier’s materials processed and sold.  

STR used to cover it’s costs by selling sorted materials to world markets with no charge to customers sending their incoming recyclables to the Apalachin facility.  Taylor says on an interim basis, STR will be charging a fee to accept recycling until the new facility is open.

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