County leaders, Keep Cobb Beautiful staff and volunteers, and county residents showed up to cut the ribbon on the $737,000 in renovations to the WestRock Recycling drop-off center approved by the Cobb County Board of Commissioners earlier this year. 

According to the county’s news release announcing the ceremony, “Studies show only 17 percent of Cobb households regularly recycle.  Cobb leaders would like to raise that to around 50 percent.”

The commissioners approved the funds for the renovation as a result of the poor condition of the center.

“Low availability of options leads to the low recycling rates,” Cobb Board of Commissioners Chairwoman told the crowd at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “So we have today improved the options available here in Cobb County.”

County resident Leroy Walden was one of the people who advocated for renovation of the center.  

“It helps us not only save the environment, but it also helps us save money at home,” Walden said. “Having this drop point, we don’t have to pay the extra charge from our waste hauler, which is a big savings. So having this available and convenient to us is very important.”

“We can take a lot more items here at this drop-off than residents can leave for curbside for their regular recycling drop-off,” said Kimberly White, Keep Cobb Beautiful’s Director. “Here, we can take things like glass, textiles, and hard-to-recycle plastics like the Hefty Renew material.”

“And if you live in multi-family homes or complexes where you don’t have the option to recycle these materials, you can bring them here to drop off,” she said.

Westrock Recycling is located at 1775 County Services Parkway, Marietta, 30008

The hours of operation are:

Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Sunday: Closed

About Cobb County

Cobb County is the third most populous county in Georgia, smaller only than Fulton and Gwinnett counties.

The governing authority is the five-member Cobb County Board of Commissioners, which includes a Chairperson and four district commissioners.

The current board is:

Chairwoman	Lisa Cupid
District 1 Commissioner	Keli Gambrill
District 2 Commissioner	Jerica Richardson
District 3 Commissioner	JoAnn Birrell
District 4 Commissioner	Monique Sheffield

The U.S. Census Bureau gives the following quick facts about the county:

PeoplePopulation
Population Estimates, July 1 2021, (V2021)	766,802
Population estimates base, April 1, 2020, (V2021)	766,149
Population, percent change – April 1, 2020 (estimates base) to July 1, 2021, (V2021)	0.1%
Population, Census, April 1, 2020	766149
Population, Census, April 1, 2010	688078
Age and Sex
Persons under 5 years, percent	5.6%
Persons under 18 years, percent	22.7%
Persons 65 years and over, percent	13.3%
Female persons, percent	51.3%
Race and Hispanic Origin
White alone, percent	61.7%
Black or African American alone, percent(a)	29.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, percent(a)	0.5%
Asian alone, percent(a)	5.7%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, percent(a)	0.1%
Two or More Races, percent	2.8%
Hispanic or Latino, percent(b)	13.7%
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, percent	50.2%
Population Characteristics
Veterans, 2016-2020	40562
Foreign born persons, percent, 2016-2020	15.6%
Housing
Housing units, July 1, 2021, (V2021)	311450
Owner-occupied housing unit rate, 2016-2020	65.8%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2016-2020	$273,900
Median selected monthly owner costs -with a mortgage, 2016-2020	$1,672
Median selected monthly owner costs -without a mortgage, 2016-2020	$474
Median gross rent, 2016-2020	$1,264
Building permits, 2021	3247
Families & Living Arrangements
Households, 2016-2020	283359
Persons per household, 2016-2020	2.63
Living in same house 1 year ago, percent of persons age 1 year+, 2016-2020	84.6%
Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2016-2020	20.5%
Computer and Internet Use
Households with a computer, percent, 2016-2020	97.2%
Households with a broadband Internet subscription, percent, 2016-2020	93.3%
Education
High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2016-2020	92.6%
Bachelor’s degree or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2016-2020	48.4%
Health
With a disability, under age 65 years, percent, 2016-2020	6.2%
Persons without health insurance, under age 65 years, percent	13.8%
Economy
In civilian labor force, total, percent of population age 16 years+, 2016-2020	69.6%
In civilian labor force, female, percent of population age 16 years+, 2016-2020	64.3%
Total accommodation and food services sales, 2017 ($1,000)(c)	2056579
Total health care and social assistance receipts/revenue, 2017 ($1,000)(c)	5569500
Total transportation and warehousing receipts/revenue, 2017 ($1,000)(c)	1536858
Total retail sales, 2017 ($1,000)(c)	18543691
Total retail sales per capita, 2017(c)	$24,615
Transportation
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16 years+, 2016-2020	31.2
Income & Poverty
Median household income (in 2020 dollars), 2016-2020	$80,830
Per capita income in past 12 months (in 2020 dollars), 2016-2020	$41,480
Persons in poverty, percent	9.2%
BusinessesBusinesses
Total employer establishments, 2020	21492
Total employment, 2020	358927
Total annual payroll, 2020 ($1,000)	21780372
Total employment, percent change, 2019-2020	-0.3%
Total nonemployer establishments, 2019	86497
All employer firms, Reference year 2017	17066
Men-owned employer firms, Reference year 2017	10386
Women-owned employer firms, Reference year 2017	3537
Minority-owned employer firms, Reference year 2017	3058
Nonminority-owned employer firms, Reference year 2017	12177
Veteran-owned employer firms, Reference year 2017	1204
Nonveteran-owned employer firms, Reference year 2017	13909
GeographyGeography
Population per square mile, 2020	2254.8
Population per square mile, 2010	2026.4
Land area in square miles, 2020	339.78
Land area in square miles, 2010	339.55