“Recycling turns things into other things. Which is like magic.”

And if that anonymous quote holds true, then McKean and Elk counties could be considered magical kingdoms, thanks to ongoing recycling efforts.

In 2016, McKean County saw nearly 3,131.08 tons of material being recycled and in Elk County, that number totalled nearly 1,000 tons, and over a two-year period, more than 2 tons of trash and nearly 150 tires have been removed in Potter County, according to local officials.

“The Conservation District is working to provide easier access to recycling and more ways to dispose of electronic waste and household hazardous waste and tires. This will decrease the number of illegal dump sites,” said McKean County Recycling Director Justin Lund, who is the secretary of PA CleanWays of McKean County.

So far this year, two special household hazardous waste and electronics collections have taken place in McKean County –– one in the Kane Borough saw 572 pounds of household hazardous waste and 10,669 pounds of electronic waste being collected. The other happened in Smethport, with 5,337 pounds of household hazardous waste and 12,369 pounds of electronic waste being collected. Household hazardous waste includes cleaners, herbicides and pesticides, Lund said.

In 2008, a survey by the PA CleanWays Illegal Dump found that McKean County had 73 dumpsites. Since then, some of those have been eliminated, Lund said. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful found that it costs $614 per ton to clean up an illegal dump site, and on average a community cleanup costs $3,000, he said.

“The PA CleanWays of McKean County works every year to clean up dump sites. After a site is cleaned, volunteers utilize deterrents to prevent future dumping in the same spot (such as blocking pull offs or installing gates),” Lund said.

In 2016, cleanups in McKean County, including river and litter, resulted in 39 events; 25,520 pounds being collected; and 581 volunteers participating, he said.

In McKean County, an electronics collection will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. June 23 in Bradford at the public works barn on Holley Avenue.

“This event is free to the public and most electronics are accepted. There is a strict limit of one TV per car load. Items containing Freon and light bulbs will be charged additional fees,” Lund said.

A tire collection will be held July 22 in Smethport. People have to call the conservation district at 814-887-4001 by July 14 to pre-register. The cost is $1.25 per car tire and $2.50 per truck tire.

An additional household hazardous waste and electronics collection event is slated for Port Allegany in August.

Meanwhile, for nearly seven years, Elk County has operated a recycling center, which is open three days a week and accepts everything from traditional recyclables as well as electronics, oil-based paints, pesticides and fluorescent lamps.

“The existence of the recycling center, as well as long-running programs for electronics recycling, tire recycling and white goods recycling has helped keep a lot of these materials from being illegally dumped,” said Bekki Titchner, recycling/solid waste coordinator for Elk County.

As long people are alive, illegal dumping will continue, she said. For some individuals, it goes back to not having to pay for trash disposal, and for others, education is the problem, Titchner said.

“We’ve had an ongoing electronics recycling program here for 13 years and we still find people who are unaware of it,” she said. “At this point, municipalities let us know when they see illegal dumping. We also get calls from residents. Having enforcement is certainly a deterrent. We also have folks who have adopted roads and conduct cleanups. All this has helped.”

Titchner said she wasn’t sure exactly how many illegal dumpsites existed in Elk County.

“We do have dumps, that’s for certain. But we do not have the large, sprawling dumps that once existed here,” she said.

During the first few years of Elk County’s Pennsylvania Cleanways chapter, she said dozens of cleanups were facilitated. At that point, an estimated 150 illegal dumps were located across the county, Titchner said.

“We partnered with concerned residents, municipalities and agencies such as DCNR [Department of Conservation and Natural Resources], Game Commission, and the ANF [Allegheny National Forest] and over time many of those sites were cleaned up,” she said.

Elsewhere across the region, a 2011 study identified 56 dump sites in Potter County in 22 municipalities.

“Funding fell into place three years later when the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company worked out an $800,000 settlement for environmental violations during the company’s construction of a pipeline in the region,” officials said on Potter County Today, the county government’s news blog. “Some of that money was reserved for remediating illegal dumpsites.”

During a course of two years, the Potter County Conservation District partnered with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Potter County Solid Waste Authority and DEP to clean 30 sites throughout the county. Those efforts resulted in an estimated 2.8 tons of trash and nearly 150 tires being removed, including along Pine Creek in Galeton and the Old Colesburg Road in Coudersport.

“Look in every back yard. People piling up trash to burn or just letting it set. All illegal dumping,” said Mike Salvadge of the Potter County Solid Waste Authority.

What can residents do to combat illegal dumping?

Lund said the course of action depends on the location of the dumpsite and the material discovered.

He suggests that people should call the police department and to contact the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliate.

“PA Department of Environmental Protection can be contacted in the event of pollution from dumping or large numbers of tires,” Lund said. “PA Fish & Boat Commission will respond if trash lies or is near surface water. PA Game Commission will respond if dumping occurs on state game lands or private land open to hunting enrolled in their hunter access programs. PA Bureau of Forestry & State Parks will respond when illegal dumping impacts state forests and state parks.”

Dumping pollutes ground and surface water and causes health concerns such as West Nile virus, Lund said.

“Dumping can decrease property values and the values of adjacent properties,” he said. “Illegal dump sites can attract other crimes. If it is OK to dump illegally here, then it is OK to do other illegal activities as well. Dumps give the impression that no one is watching or cares about the property. Dumping not only poses harm to humans, but to wildlife as well. Dumping can give a community/business a negative aspect and decrease its worth.”