(Radio Iowa) — The president of the Iowa Recycling Association says a perfect storm has come together to cause the price of recyclable materials to plunge. Alan Schumacher says part of the problem is some Iowans think everything can be recycled and they’re bogging down the system with trash that should go to the landfill. “Garden hoses, somebody must think those are recycling, so they’ll put that in there or mayonnaise jars that are half full,” Schumacher says. “People have to handle that material and then, we’ve got to have end markets for it.” Business in former end markets like China and various Third World countries has been drying up, Schumacher says, but China is now looking to get into the recycling business on American soil.

“They’re buying up some of our paper mills on the East Coast and up in Wisconsin and the north-central part of the United States,” Schumacher says. “They’re going to start putting money into these mills and buy recovered fiber domestically and then send the pulp or finished byproduct overseas for themselves now. Instead of exporting the material and having to sort through it, they’re going to do that here.” In the new legislative session opening next month, he says the association will be pushing Iowa lawmakers for an enhanced bottle bill, including more money for redemption of five-cent bottles and cans.

“It would spring up new facilities and new locations all over the state of Iowa and we could be collecting all of this material,” Schumacher says. “We have buyers for aluminum. We have buyers for PET (polyethylene terephthalate) water bottles. We have buyers for Gatorade bottles. We just need to get ’em collected.” Instead of being recycled, recent reports found 20 tons of paper per day were sent to landfills in central Iowa this summer because China tightened the standards on what it would accept. Dozens of companies and governmental entities are members of the Iowa Recycling Association.

Sheriff’s officials in Taylor County report 55-year old James Meek, Jr., of Blockton, was arrested Tuesday near the intersection State Highway 2 and Sherwood Avenue, following a traffic stop.. Meek was charged with Eluding, Driving While Barred, and Reckless Driving. Additional charges are pending. Meek was being held at the Taylor County Jail on $4,300 bond.

A man from Union County was arrested Tuesday morning in Creston, on numerous warrants, including three counts of Forgery. Creston Police report 21-year old Paul Albrechtsen, of Kent, was also arrested on warrants charging him with Failure to Appear on original charges of Criminal Mischief in the 4th degree, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. Albrechtsen was additionally charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/2nd offense, Possession of Paraphernalia, and two counts of Possession of Burglary tools. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $38,500 bond.

And, Tuesday night, Creston Police arrested 40-year old Brandie Whitney, of Creston, for Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, and Driving While Barred. Whitney was taken into custody at McKinley Park, in Creston, and later released on a $3,000 bond.

DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man has died in a crash on U.S. Highway 20. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 60-year-old Russell Faust was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash just west of Dyersville on Tuesday evening. The Iowa State Patrol says Faust was driving eastbound when a semi driven by 54-year-old Davis Steger, of Colesburg, turned onto the highway from a county road. Authorities say Faust’s van struck the semi and caught fire, trapping Faust inside. The crash happened around 6:50 p.m. Authorities are still investigating.

(Radio Iowa) — A semi collided with a school bus from the Belmond-Klemme (CLEM-ee) School District in Wright County on Tuesday afternoon near Belmond. The accident occurred at 4 p.m. on County Highway C20 just north of Belmond. The semi driver allegedly did not see the school bus traveling along the road and ran a stop sign, striking the bus on its side near the rear of the bus. The impact spun the bus around on the road, but the bus never actually left the road surface.

An ambulance and a Wright County Sheriff’s Deputy quickly arrived on scene and the four students and driver appeared to be unharmed, but were transported to the Iowa Specialty Hospital in Belmond for further examination. The driver of the school bus is identified as Randy Dougherty, a veteran driver with 39 years of experience. The driver of the semi has not been identified and it’s unclear if charges will be filed. The district says the parents of the four students were quickly informed of the accident and were directed to the hospital where the students were being examined.

Voters in the Harlan Community School District have defeated a proposed $28.5-million bond referendum for District improvements that would have increased property taxes. According to the Shelby County Auditor’s Office, Proposition “A”, the issuance of a General Obligation Bond to fund the facility updates, was defeated by a vote of 947-No (73.64%) to 339 Yes (26.36%). Proposition “B”, authorizing an increase in the tax levy by $4.05/$1,000 taxable property value, was defeated by a vote of 898 No (70.10%) to 383 Yes (29/90%).

Proposition “C”, an extension of the PPEL (Physical Plant and Equipment Levy), was denied by a vote of 729 No votes (56.82%) to 554 (43.18%) Yes votes. And, Proposition “D”, an extension of the ISL (Instructional Support Levy), was denied by a vote of 733 No votes (57.27%) to 547 Yes votes (42.73%). Harlan School District voters also voted down the IWCC bond measure for improvements to Iowa Western Community College’s Council Bluffs campus. The vote in Harlan was 674 No votes (52.62%) to 607 Yes votes (47.38%).