Portage County leaders and their associates presented Gov. Ted Strickland with a project proposal Friday afternoon during a visit to the Portage County Waste Management facility.

Starting with a tour, Gov. Strickland acquainted himself to the facility that William Steiner II, director of the facility, says is the largest waste management plant in Ohio. The tour wasn’t private, though, as Chuck Keiper, Portage County Board of Commissioner president; and Dan Banks, Board of Commissioners grants administrator, were a few of those accompanying Strickland.

Following the tour, Vadxx Energy CEO Jim Garrett presented a program that he said could help change the way Portage county, and later, other parts of the country will recycle. Garrett explained to the governor the idea of recycling now unusable by-products or common household plastics and materials to produce crude oil.

Garrett said the idea he is pitching is past the research stages and is operational. He said it is small in size now, and is looking to grow the relationship with the Portage County Waste Management facility and to facilitate the expansion of his business through the relationship.

Gov. Strickland responded optimistically to the information received so far on the project, such as job creation and better uses of currently unusable materials.

“I see no downside,” Strickland said.

Garrett and Portage County officials said there is still work to be done to see what the future of the partnership holds and will be looked into it in the following weeks.