To help accommodate an increased interest in recycling, the Great Bend City Council Monday night approved a rezoning request from Sunflower Diversified Services.

Sunflower currently operates a recycling service at 5523 10th Street and has purchased real estate adjacent to the west. Sunflower officials said the service has outgrown its current facility. 

So, it requested rezoning from C-2 (general commercial) to M-1 (light industrial) in order to move the recycling facility as well as other employment activities for its clients, said Building Official Logan Burns.

The Planning Commission has endorsed the change, Burns said. 

“Our community recycling services has nearly doubled the amount of materials we processed in 2019,” said Sunflower Executive Director Jon Prescott. As of Aug. 30, they have processed over 3.2 million pounds of recycling materials. 

“During this COVID epidemic, the local community has really embraced the habit of recycling their waste and bringing it to our community Recycling Center on 10th Street,” he said. However, the current facility is no longer large enough to manage the current volume.

“We have been blessed with the opportunity to now own the property at 5605 10th street (previously known as Pro Tint Automotive services),” Prescott said. “This property will allow us to continue our growth for years to come and provide even more jobs for our clients and staff.”

In addition to housing the new Recycling Center, this property will also allow Sunflower to grow its assembly work that companies engage their clients to provide.