FARMINGTON – Sandy River Recycling Association had a pretty good year even though the price for recyclable goods bottomed out in late 2008, its manager said.

Likewise, the Maine Resource Recovery Association, a cooperative that markets recyclable items for SRRA and more than 200 municipalities, also had a good year.

“Good enough for a small rebate from MRRA,” says Ron Slater, manager of the Sandy River Recycling Association, which processes the recyclables of its 21-member towns before shipping them to MRRA for marketing.

SRRA directors will share the $319.69 rebate with member towns reflected in the bills sent in 2010, he said. The board also felt the year was good enough to lower the cost it charges member towns for processing and transporting their recyclables from $40 to $35 a ton.

This is the third time the nonprofit has lowered its cost per ton for member towns in recent years. SRRA processes and consolidates recyclables before transporting them on to MRRA, he said.

As a member of MRRA since the early 1990s, SRRA pays dues and $4 a ton for the organization to market materials including milk jugs, tin cans, glass jars, newspapers, magazines and corrugated cardboard to the world.

Part of the reason SRRA is dropping fees is to show towns that recycling is sustainable and the responsible thing to do, Slater explained.

SRRA processed about 1,755 tons for its member towns in 2008 or about 65 tons less than the year before. In the five years between 2003 to 2008, there was a decrease of 381 tons.

“Recycling – in good or bad times – saves a lot of money when it comes to waste disposal,” he said.