Pocatello welder comes up with recycle design

A Pocatello sanitation department worker has come up with a unique design for a glass-recycling dumpster.

Jon Conn is a welder-fabricator for the City of Pocatello. He spends most days repairing the city’s roll-off boxes, containers and 30-truck fleet. But, now that the city is starting a new glass recycling program, he was asked to create an easy-to-use container to accept glass and discourage dumping of regular trash.

He got inspiration for a design from an automobile glove compartment. The containers feature two 16-inch pull-out doors, one on each side of the container, for residents to drop in their glass and a bar across the top that locks the container, stopping would be trash dumpers.

“When my kids see the containers, they ask ‘Dad, did you build that one?’ ” Conn said. “I’m proud to be doing my part to keep the glass out of the landfill. Everyone involved did a great job.”

“Jon is a fantastic example of the ingenuity our employees are capable of and of the dedication they have to the City of Pocatello,” said Jeff Mansfield, Public Works Director/City Engineer. “He took the idea, developed it into a concept, and then made it a reality. I commend him for his work all the way through the project.”

You can find more information on the city’s glass recycling program here.