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WEIRTON - A portion of the parking lot across from United Steelworkers Local 2911 hall on West Street has been changed into a large community recycling station by ArcelorMittal Weirton and the union.

Dave Minda, ArcelorMittal Weirton compliance manager, said the community recycling center grew out of an idea brought up during a meeting of the Council for Stronger Communities, an employee council including representatives of the company and the union. Minda said the group meets monthly. The company said sustainability within its work force and the community are a core value of ArcelorMittal.

"As a local person, I see cans and tires along the road. I think if people have a way out of that, maybe debris won't end up along the road," Minda said.

ArcelorMittal employees involved in the project in addition to Minda include John Collins and Terry Knight of the mill's environmental control department as well as Todd Martin and Rich Hoffman of the MEU department.

Though ArcelorMittal Weirton is a producer of tin, (the company notes that 18 billion cans worldwide are re-melted into steel products annually) the ArcelorMittal Weirton Community Recycling Center takes in much more than tin and steel. There are bins in a large metal container box for batteries of all types, from flashlights and toys up to car batteries; computers, monitors and keyboards; and lightbulbs of all kinds. In addition, there are bins for paper recyclables and for mixed recyclable products such as plastics and metals.

There also is an area for deposit of tires with or without steel wheels for recycling.

"There is acid in the batteries and lead that can be recycled. In computers and keyboards, there is some steel and precious metals as well as the plastic," Minda said.

The receptacles are clearly marked for drop-off of materials.

The center won't be manned, but there is the Local 2911 hall across the street and the nearby manned Gate 13 to the mill, where the guard in the booth has a clear view of the recycling area, Minda noted. In addition, he said, there are plant vehicles and personnel passing by often.

ArcelorMittal is encouraging its employees, as well as anyone in the local community, to use the facility for proper disposal of recyclable materials that otherwise would be dumped into landfills or become litter. Minda said the site is open for use throughout the region.

The company uses Waste Management and American Waste to pick up the recyclable materials and any value to the recyclables is used to continue paying the contractors for the pickups.

(Giannamore can be contacted at pgiannamore@heraldstaronline.com)