Recycling could become a lot more convenient for some area residents. Currently, if Blair County residents want to drop off recyclables, especially the larger ones that haulers don’t take, they have to drive six miles out of Altoona.

The composting and recycling facility for the county is on Black Snake Road, in the Buckhorn area.
But plans are, fingers crossed, to move the drop-off center into Altoona.

The former J and J Recycling building on Margaret Avenue is the location now in the sights of the Intermunicipal Relations Committee.

The I.R.C., which oversees recycling in Blair County, is applying for a $350,000 state grant to buy, renovate, and purchase equipment for the property. The move has the backing of the city of Altoona, Hollidaysburg and Logan Township.

I.R.C. Executive Director John Frederick says, “We’ve always recognized that the Buckhorn facility is inconvenient for people that live down here in the valley, so when the opportunity presented itself, to find a facility that we might be able to development down where the people are, we were very excited about that.”

The new facility would accept items haulers don’t take, like electronics and appliances. Frederick says that if the grant money comes through, the new recycling facility could be operating early next year.
He says the current facility would then revert to what it was intended to be–mainly a composting site.