I learned from the Mecklenburg Waste Management Advisory Board meeting today that the recycling center for the county is faced with very low cost for commodities in the world market.
On top of that they have issues with things being placed in the green totes each pickup that do not belong.
Do Not put plastic bags in the container. It literally clogs up the rollers and takes more than two hours to clear it manually shutting down the system throughout the day. I saw pictures today and it is a HUGE mess. Please take those back to the grocery. They have bailing options to get those turned into products. Mecklenburg county is not set up to take them.
Also do not put Yard Waste in the system. Use weekly curb side pickup to dispose of yw.
Also do not put metals outside of grocery cans inside the containers. Apparently people put things like lawnmower blades and sheet metal. These items are recyclable for Cash $$$, but not in the green totes. You have to take them to a center that handles those items. The recycling center is not set up to sort such items and once again it causes breakdowns.,
The cost currently due to the commodities market being ,and breakdowns due to improper recycling city wide is causing major issues. IT currently cost Mecklenburg County money to recycle. They want us to recycle because it keeps these reusable items out of the landfill. It also is just a good thing to do for the environment. However Please do your part and be sure to put non bagged recyclable items only in the GREEN Roll Cart. Some of the carriers are going to be fined for bringing in non clean recycling items.
The city will not pickup improperly prepared green cans. Especially those that have YW sticking out of the can or bagged items. City staff are monitoring this type of issue citywide.
These are simple things we can do to help keep the cost down, and keep the Mecklenburg Recycling Center operating as efficiently as possible.
Workers get injured cleaning the system and removing items jammed or wrapped around the system.
Please do your part. Make sure the lid closes and you have only non bagged approved items in your cart. Do recycle but do it correctly Please!
