Recycling sites overwhelmed with dumped items - WKBN.com

Recycling sites overwhelmed with dumped items in Youngstown, Ohio area

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio(WKBN) – As more and more of us are having holiday gifts delivered to our doorstep, the boxes many of those items arrived in may be making a mess for others to deal with.

On Tuesday, we found recycling dumpsters full and people putting bags and boxes from Christmas wrappings on the ground.

All around Mahoning County, crews from the Green Team recycling office, as well as the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office day reporting program have been out cleaning up those messes. Because Christmas fell on a Monday this year, they dumpsters weren’t emptied as they usually would have been.

“We’re playing catchup now. We’ve got two different trucking companies out. We’ve got different cleaning crews and we’re trying to pick up all the stuff,” said Lou Vega, with the Mahoning County Green Team.

To keep up with the extra trash, additional roll-off dumpsters have been placed at recycling centers around the county and crews are emptying them several times a day. One of the biggest problems is big boxes that take up too much space inside the cans.

“Breaking down the boxes is probably the simplest thing you could do to help us out,” Vega said.

The extra effort this time of year doesn’t come cheap. The Green Team spends about $30,000 to $40,000 more this month just trying to keep some of the recycling sites clean.

Directors say there’s really no need for residents to rush to get their cardboard recyclables dropped off.

“Put them in a corner of your garage, break them down and when you get enough to warrant a trip, then come out to the drop-off sites and throw them inside,” Vega said.

In the meantime, Vega hopes people will just use common sense and not leave messes behind at recycling sites.