Knox County Administrator Jason Booth told the Board of Commissioners on July 7 that the Knox County Compost Facility has closed for cleanup and reorganization as county officials also investigate who abused the site and damaged the gate.
Booth said, "Obviously, it is an absolute mess out there because it was getting overrun with material before it got closed. And so it's now closed and it's going to have to remain closed for some period of time until we can figure out as the contractor works to try to get it the site cleared, so we can then go in and do work and get the site set back up," according to a video recording of the board's July 7 meeting. He also said the push button had been run over, kicked over, or damaged some other way at least twice. Wires have been cut. He said they had to get a chain and locks to lock the site on July 6. He said they will pull camera footage to try to determine who caused the damage.
According to Booth in the video recording, "the compost facility continued to be heavily used by many citizens who do the right thing. But it also has been used and abused by some citizens who aren't doing the right thing." Booth said in the same recording that "the compost facility will have to be closed for a great amount of time because a lot of material is on site."
Residents will be provided updates about specific reopening times and operational changes as they become available, according to a county Facebook post. Residents with questions should reach out to Knox County Recycling & Litter Prevention at 740-393-6704.
