WARREN Junk dumping threatens recycling program future

One recycling station was removed last week because of dumping.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Lawn chairs, sofas and old mattresses may be reusable, but local officials want to get the word out that they are definitely not recyclable.
The Trumbull-Geauga Solid Waste District may be forced to close some of its 54 recycling drop-off sites if people don't quit leaving items beyond plastic, glass, cans and newsprint.
"It is not regular garbage," said district Director Robert Villers. The materials being dumped are typically the kind of things that curbside waste haulers refuse to accept, he said.
Several times over the past year, the district has paid to simply landfill the entire contents of a 30-yard roll-off container, rather than attempt to sort through the melange of junk and cans.
Doing this doesn't cost the district more money -- in fact, dumping the stuff in a landfill costs the district only $38 a ton, compared with $100 a ton to recycle -- but it does circumvent the district's mission, Villers said.
"The majority of people who use the recycling stations use them correctly and appreciate the service," he said. "You have a small number of people who are making it difficult for everybody else."
The district, which is funded by landfill tipping fees, paid $400,000 for the recycling program last year.
Effort to stop dumping
The district tried to address the problem of junk getting into the recycling bins a few months ago by welding steel bars into the mouths of the recycling bins, so items such as tires and propane tanks couldn't be tossed inside.
However, this hasn't stopped people from piling trash outside the bins.
Last week, the district removed the recycling station from Freeway Lanes on Parkman Road at the request of the lanes' owner, who was sick of seeing debris left in the parking lot, Villers said.
Sometimes the company contracted to handle the recycling, Phoenix Disposal, handles the mess. Townships often pick up around bins positioned near township garages. In the city of Warren, the service department has been good about taking the trash, Villers said.
The district has bought two video cameras, complete with night vision and motion sensors, that will be deployed to nab dumpers, he said. They could face up to $500 fines.
siff@vindy.com