Oregon, OH plans to suspend its recycling program for up to two years to re-educate the public on ways to improve the process. “The recycling world is changing dramatically worldwide,” said City Administrator Mike Beazley at a recent council meeting. “It’s affecting this country and will affect Oregon.”
“China is closing the gates of accepting so much recycling that we used to send to them. It is going to significantly affect all that we recycle now. So it’s something we’ve just begun discussions on. Right now, there’s only a demand for cardboard and aluminum cans. The rest of it is landfilled,” he said.
City Council President Dennis Walendzak said a lot of the items that are collected for recycling in the U.S. end up in landfills due to contamination. “Food items that are not rinsed out or washed can contaminate a large bale of recyclable goods. Then it all gets directed to the landfill. China has closed the door of recycling to the United States because it has received so much contaminated product and they were just throwing it into their landfills. So they are passing it back over to us to handle it and re-educate the communities on how to recycle,” said Walendzak.
“There are going to be changes coming,” added Beazley. “We’ll end up having a council committee hearing. The world is going to change around us. We just have to get ready.”
The city has two years left of a five year contract with Waste Management, according to Public Service Director Paul Roman. The contract includes unlimited garbage pickup. There is a separate cost for the recycling program. Roman said there will be recycling information posted on the city’s website to “explain what is proper and what is not.” If the public wishes to continue recycling after the city suspends the program, they can continue to use the facility at Pearson Metropark, said Seferian.
Read the full story at http://www.presspublications.com/21795-oregon-to-suspend-recycling-program-for-two-years.