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STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – Homeowners in Stevens Point could soon face fines if they’re found tossing trash – or other non-recyclable material – in their recycling bins.
A Facebook post from the public works department says: “Due to the large increase of wrongly recycled items, Portage County will start charging the City fees for contaminated loads. As a reminder, only the following may be recycled: plastic bottles, jugs and tubs, aluminum and steel cans, flattened cardboard, mixed paper, and glass bottles and jars. Refrain from bagging recyclables, keep them loose to ensure they’ll be recycled. Bagged materials pose safety risks to workers and are pulled from the sorting line and placed into the trash.”
Mayor Mike Wiza says the city is seeing more and more cases of so-called ‘contaminated’ recycling, where food or other waste products makes something that could normally be recycled ineligible.
That means sorters at the recycling center have to go through and manually separate the trash, which costs the city time and money. That expense is something Wiza says will be passed on to residents if the trend continues, saying they can identify which homes are causing the problem.
Wiza says the city’s waste trucks have cameras on them, and can identify what garbage gets tossed in and what house it was sourced from.
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