Officials with the West Central Iowa Solid Waste Management Association (SWMA), in Carroll, report contaminated rural recycling trailers are placing an unnecessary financial burden on recycling services. Mary Wittry, Regional Contact for the West Central Iowa Solid Waste Management Association said today (Tuesday), “Rural recycling services face possible elimination of funding due to the vast amount of garbage being dumped into the trailers. The contamination of trash found in our rural recycle trailers places an unnecessary financial burden on the Association to sort and ultimately landfill this material, and could lead to rejection of our recyclables at the mill.”

SWMA covers Carroll, Crawford, Guthrie and Shelby Counties, and 11 communities in west central Iowa. Recycling has been around since the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act of 1989. Fast forward 31 years, and we still face confusion on what goes in the recycling and what goes in the garbage. SWMA says their rural recycling trailers have become a dumping site for many unrecyclable items. Rural recycling trailers are placed throughout their service area to provide easy and accessible recycling opportunities for those who live outside curbside collection zones. Misunderstanding of acceptable materials is putting this service in jeopardy.

Poor recycling basics in the USA has closed the door for recycling exports, placing a toll on domestic mill abilities to handle the amount of materials produced. Domestic mills place high expectations for clean, dry non-contaminated recycling materials. Noncompliance results in rejection of baled materials, sending them into the landfill. Recycling education can be found by visiting the Association website at www.westcentralsolidwaste.com or call your local solid waste office with questions. Help preserve our rural recycling program for generations to come by educating yourself and others on recyclable materials and the proper disposal of trash.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Responsibly…it’s the right thing to do.