Bradford Township’s issues with recycling are nothing new for that municipality, or for many places where the honor system is used for compliance.
On Wednesday, McKean County recycling coordinator Justin Lund said the same issues — of people using the bins for non-recyclable materials, or leaving items around the bin on the ground — caused at least one county to end its program entirely.
“A few years ago, Venango County had it so bad with illegal dumping, they pulled all their bins,” Lund said.
Leaving the bags littering the ground is actually a crime, he said. “Bradford Township has been fining people for illegal dumping,” Lund added.
He added he has met with two of the supervisors in the past, and they have discussed various ways to make changes to the site. “There’s a grant the municipality can apply for to upgrade their recycling facilities,” he said, adding it may be possible to apply for the next round of funding.
The recycling itself is a program offered free of charge by Casella Waste of Olean. Right now, the bottom has dropped out of the recycling market. China had been purchasing recyclables from the U.S. and other countries, but a sweeping change in regulations at the beginning of the year largely curtailed that practice.
Now, across the U.S., communities are finding there’s no place for recycling to go — except to a landfill.
“A lot of things are raising the cost of recycling,” Lund said.
A public education campaign to teach people what can be recycled and how may be the next step.
“Drop-off recycling does work. It just takes a lot of time and energy,” he said. “Curbside recycling is easier, but you have them sifting through it and only taking the items you are allowed to have recycled.”
Lund said there are ways people can be more careful with how they fill the drop-off bins, which will also help the situation. Boxes should be broken down so they don’t take up a lot of space. Some items, while plastic, just aren’t recyclable — like plastic chairs, which have been left in the bins before. “It’s called wishful recycling, tossing things in the bins in hopes it’s recyclable,” Lund said.
“There are a lot of people who think they are doing the right thing,” he added. At the Smethport recycling site, which is a manned drop-off facility, forms are handed out to people who wish to drop off items.
“We had them sign up with names and addresses, and told them what they can and can’t recycle,” he explained. “Since we did that we’ve had a lot less problems.”
Also on Wednesday, Rocco Camas, who for two decades was involved with Rambler Owls Recycling Corp., contacted The Era about the township’s issues.
Camas said the Ramblers recycling was locked at night, which prevented many of the same problems the township is having. He suggested the township should look into having Casella pick up curbside recycling.
