During Tuesday's meeting of the Solid Waste Authority, Recycling/Solid Waste Coordinator Bekki Titchner proposed the idea of using the county's recycling website to promote a materials exchange among area businesses.

"I've read about them and seen them in other parts of the country where a business has something that they don't need anymore and rather than throw it away maybe there's another business that can use it so they don't have to buy it," explained Titchner.

She added that the Authority would not be taking any of the materials; they would simply be posting what other organizations were trying to dispose of or acquire.

Authority members agreed that it could not hurt to try and see how the idea would work in the area.

Titchner added that she had previously been contacted by two businesses about disposing of and acquiring specific items.

"A lot of times there really aren't markets to recycle some of these items other than disposal," said Titchner. "One business actually called, they were looking for some totes. The other business actually had totes that they didn't know what to do with because the manufacturer wouldn't take them back. I hooked them both up together. I'm not sure whether that actually worked out for them or not."

Additionally, the group decided that in order for the exchange to work all area businesses would need to be contacted and informed of what is going on and how they can list that they have or are looking for items.

Besides the materials exchange, Titchner also discussed the Clarion River Cleanup that was held recently. Fifty-two individuals participated in the cleanup, which was held at sites along the Clarion River including Bendigo Road, Ridgway/Portland Mills Road, Millstone Township and Cook Forest.

Finally, Titchner announced that the next electronics collection will be held on September 20. Since the program began over half a million pounds of electronics have been recycled.

In addition to the September 20 collection, the group will also have a container in Ridgway Township for their fall cleanup on Thursday, September 25 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.