GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Kent County Recycling and Education Center will reopen on Friday. The facility has been closed since an incident caused structural damage to the building on Monday afternoon.
According to the Kent County Department of Public Works, the incident involved bales of carboard recycling that had built up and pushed through the building’s sidewall. This caused damage to the exterior wall and roof support beam. No one was injured in the incident.
The Kent County Department of Public Works has worked with structural engineers to assess the damage. They also worked with local construction companies to put in building supports.
Permanent repairs will take several months to complete.
“We have ensured the building is supported and assessed the full extent of the damage to the facility,” said Kent County Department of Public Works Director Dar Baas. “We’ll be testing equipment Thursday and plan to begin accepting material and processing recyclables on Friday.”
“We occasionally experience closures at the recycling center when we need to shut the processing line down to install new equipment or make repairs,” said Steve Faber, marketing and communications manager for the Kent County Department of Public Works. “During these outages, it’s always a good idea to connect with your waste hauler to see if they recommend holding on to your recycling.”
