BROOKINGS (11-9-26) — The City of Brookings Solid Waste Division will be conducting curbside recycling cart inspections November 19 and 20. The inspections are an effort to help reduce contamination and improve recycling quality.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in contamination in the City’s single-stream recycling, particularly plastics and Styrofoam, and this contamination creates issues at the recycling facility,” said Solid Waste Business Operations Manager Katie Stiegelmeier. “These contaminants can lead to shutdowns, delays in processing, and fees charged back to the City as a hauler for contaminated loads.”
The curbside recycling cart inspections are being conducted as an effort to help reduce contamination before it reaches the recycling facility, and also to help educate residents about what they put in their cart, said Solid Waste Manager Charlie Kuhn.
“The curbside inspections will check around 400 bins throughout the community,” said Kuhn. During these inspections, a recycling cart will be opened, and if contamination is visible, the contamination will be documented and a notice will be placed on the cart. The notice will let the resident know what the contaminants were and provide additional information on proper recycling. Continued issues may result in non-service of the resident’s recycling.
The inspections will focus on the four top contaminants:
- Bagged materials
- Plastic bags
- Styrofoam
- Bulky plastics, such as 5-gallon buckets, plastic toys, etc.
“The only plastics that are accepted in our single-stream recycling are rinsed plastic bottles, tubs, jugs and jars,” said Stiegelmeier. “Other plastics are not recyclable and have to be manually removed when they make their way to the recycling facility.”
The Solid Waste Division is asking residents to help keep the single-stream recycling running smoothly by ensuring only accepted items are placed in their bins. A new “What Goes Where” search tool is available on the City’s website, allowing residents to type in an item and quickly learn whether it is recyclable. If it’s not recyclable, the tool offers alternative disposal methods. The tool is available at www.cityofbrookings-sd.gov/
Residents are encouraged to follow these quick tips:
- Do not bag recyclables.
- Place all materials loose in the bin.
- Only recycle the following plastics: rinsed bottles, tubs, jugs and jars.
· Use the “What Goes Where” search tool or the city’s printable recycling guide to learn what can and cannot be recycled.
For more information on what can and cannot be recycled, visit www.cityofbrookings-sd.gov/
— From the City of Brookings
