Vidalia Recycling Services to Resume Feb. 2
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Republic Services will resume the regular pickup of recyclables in the city of Vidalia on Thursday, February 2, after taking a break due to contamination of recycled items at the Laurens County Recycling Center.
In December, City administration received a notice that the Laurens County Recycling Center would not be receiving recyclables for a month because of contamination caused by current items sent to the facility. According to Laurens County Recycling Center employee Ralph Brooks, some of the contamination was attributed to yard debris, metal, tires, paint cans, cords, tarps, fabric, and other common items.
Because of this, the City has not been accepting any discarded items to be recycled during routine pickup at the Convenience Center on 111 Brinson Road. All previously collected recyclables were placed in trash bags and regular household garbage cans for collection purposes.
During regularly scheduled garbage pickup on January 11 and 18, citizens’ recycling bins were inspected to see if inappropriate items were being placed in the carts. Carts with contaminated materials inside received a note to remind them of the accepted items for recycling. Those items include the following: normal cardboard with no wax, aluminum drink cans, milk jugs, and any plastic with a one (1) or a two (2) in the middle of triangle located on the item. Items that cannot be recycled are snack boxes, cereal boxes, plastic bags from the local grocery store, Styrofoam plates, any plastic without a 1 or a 2 in the recycle triangle, plastic sandwich bags, tin cans (such as soup or dog food cans), glass, any type of paper (including newspaper), and the box that aluminum drink cans come in. Also, yard debris, metal, tires, paint cans, cords, tarps, and fabric should not be placed in the recycling bin.
The City of Vidalia encourages citizens to be mindful of what is being placed in the recycling carts so that the recycling program may be continued. When items are recycled, it saves funds that would be used to pay landfill costs.
