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This Week
Peoria City Council paves the way for development
January 30, 2020
Peoria’s Hometown Newspaper
Defense of Trump lands Lesko on TV BY TOM SCANLON
Peoria Times Managing Editor
NEWS..............3
21
Though she insists she is enraged by the Democrat-led impeachment of President Donald Trump, the process has been a publicity boon for Rep. Debbie Lesko, the Republican who represents District 8. Last week was a huge one for Lesko, who lives in Peoria. It started Monday, Jan. 20, when Lesko received a call from the White House. She learned she was one of eight members of Congress selected for Trump’s impeachment defense team. (The others were Reps. Jim Jordan, John Ratcliffe, Mike Johnson, Mark Meadows, Lee Zeldin, Elise Stefanik and Doug Collins.)
“I’m very honored,” Lesko said, from her Surprise office. Friday afternoon, she appeared calm and relaxed, laughing frequently as she reflected on a strange, busy week. “My life is a little surreal,” she said with a chuckle. On Jan. 22, Lesko appeared on “Hannity,” which has been the most-watched show on cable news. Lesko’s 90-year-old mother, who lives in Youngtown, was not one of the 4 million viewers. “She doesn’t have cable,” Lesko said, again laughing. “She’s frugal.” Lekso was also on “CBS Evening News,” another national TV show, Monday, Jan. SEE LESKO PAGE 2
The Trump impeachment has been a publicity boon for Rep. Debbie Lesko. She prepared here for an appearance on “Hannity,” the most-watched cable news show. (Photo courtesy Debbie Lesko)
Changes make recycling a costly challenge BY ERIC NEWMAN
Peoria Times Staff Writer
NEWS..............4 Man sentenced to 12 years for exploitation
OPINION.................10 BUSINESS...............12 SPORTS...................14 CALENDAR.............16 FEATURES...............20 RELIGION................24 YOUTH....................26 CLASSIFIEDS...........30
Recycling is becoming more expensive for cities, which must pay workers to sort through materials for contamination. (Photo courtesy city of Glendale)
Recycling for area residents has become more complicated than simply throwing materials into the bin and rolling it curbside with little thought. With recent sanctions on recyclable materials and ever-changing rules and regulations on what can be reused and sold to manufacturers, cities in the West Valley have had to change their own procedures and spend more time educating the public. Materials are taken from the homes of recyclers, brought to a material recovery facility, or MRF, then sorted by conveyor belt. Workers sift through the potentially recyclable materials and dispose of the
contaminated items or otherwise non-acceptable. The non-recyclables are transported to landfills with other solid waste from regular garbage pickup, while the recyclables are baled and transported to manufacturers. In years past, recyclables were transported out of the country in large portions, especially to China. However, the Chinese have made drastic changes to their collection of items like newspaper. Recently, the country stopped allowing many recyclables due to contamination of materials. “Contamination was overlooked for many years because China overlooked it,” said Peoria Public Works Director Kevin SEE RECYCLING PAGE 7
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