Construction will start soon on a new county recycling center in Franklin. The Johnson County Solid Waste Management District Board awarded a bid to Runnebohm Construction Co. last month for the construction of a new 10,000-square-foot recycling center. A bid for $2.5 million was approved, but the county council has approved a $3.2 million total bond that also includes soft costs and contingency funds.
The project is expected to be complete in the second quarter of next year, or spring 2025. The current recycling center will remain operational until closer to construction completion. The current recycling center is a drive-through operation in a rented building at 900 Arvin Dr, Franklin. The center has been at that location for approximately 15 to 16 years, said Jessie Biggerman, executive director of the Johnson County Recycling District.
鈥淎nybody who鈥檚 gone through there knows that there鈥檚 some quirks to it, and so we have had on the table for quite some time the desire to build a facility that would incorporate all of our needs,鈥� Biggerman said. Johnson County Commissioner Kevin Walls said talk on creating a new recycling center started two to three years ago when the county started to look hard at eliminating building rent as rates continued to rise.