Can redemption center opens in Charles City

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A can redemption center is available again in Charles City, run by a familiar face.

Jeff Germundson told the Press he has opened Floyd County Redemption Center at 1200 Fisher St., which is north of the railroad tracks off of Lane Street, about four blocks west of Main Street.

Right now the business is limited to cans and plastic bottles only, and three large bags per customer per week, he said.

Germundson has a can-counting machine so customers’ bags can be processed quickly and the customers paid, but then the cans must still be sorted by hand so they can be returned to the different beverage companies.

That’s why he has to limit the number of cans he can take in, he said.

The first few days he has been open he has been swamped with customers, he said, but the customers still don’t have to wait long because of his machine.

The hours currently are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Germundson said he also wants to give back to the community. A fenced bin is available in front of the building for people to drop off cans that will be redeemed as a donation to the Messiah Food Pantry.

Germundson started Worth County Recycling in Manly in the summer of 2019. After the More BS redemption center in Charles City closed he took over that company’s location on the east side of Charles City, along U.S. Highway 18, in August 2022.

But he said he soon found the space in that building was inadequate and there were problems getting trucks in there to take away the cans and bottles, so he closed that location.

Germundson moved his Manly business to Hampton last May.

He said he soon started having problems with neighbors there because he bought a building in an area with homes, even through the area was zoned for business. The city also complained that trucks to pick up the cans were traveling over streets that were not rated for truck traffic, and threatened to start ticketing the trucks.

He got tired of dealing with the hassles and closed that business in September, he said.

And now he has moved back to Charles City.