McKean County officials are asking residents to not be the one who ruins a good thing for everyone.
The county has recycling bins set up in Smethport, which is a free service from Casella Waste Management. And the majority of people who are using the service are doing so correctly.
Yet the McKean County Conservation District and McKean County Good Growing Gardens program has had to step in to do something about people leaving garbage or non-recyclable materials, or stacking items on the ground when the bins are full.
“A lot of people try to do the right thing,” Justin Lund, county recycling director, said. “But if the bins are full, people will tend to leave the stuff outside, which does create a problem, not just for the county but also for the Casella drivers.”
Trash gets strewn through area yards, leaving the recycling area an unsightly and potentially unsanitary mess.
Now, because of the issues, steps had to be put in place to prevent it from happening.
“They have an attendant out there at the 3G barn,” Lund said, explaining the attendant monitors the bins. When someone arrives to drop off recycling, they must sign an agreement before proceeding, and must obtain a participant card.
“We’ve had the attendant for two weeks now,” he said. “On Monday we had a meeting. They had 117 forms returned, signed by people.”
People who are using the free service correctly have had no problems with compliance, he added.
“We don’t want to harp on the people who are using it correctly,” he said. “Educational wise, if you don’t know what’s recyclable, ask. Be considerate of the recycling bins and the area. If there’s not room in the bins, don’t leave the stuff sitting on the ground.”
Lund said the county commissioners are working on getting a compactor, which will help ease space concerns.
“Three bins down there just isn’t enough,” he said. “With a compactor, we’ll be able to accept more materials at a time.”
And there is a camera in place, and more are available through the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful program. Law enforcement can get involved when there is illegal dumping.
The bins are replaced four times a week; if it is full, bring the recyclables back another day, officials ask.
