If you happened to find yourself thinking, “It’s never been this hot over Memorial Day weekend,” simply put: You were right.FORT WAYNE – Fort Wayne’s new recycling program allows residents to divert more trash from the landfill, but at this time of year not every piece of pretty paper or pretty ribbon of blue can be placed into the yellow-lidded carts.
With Americans typically producing 25 percent more waste during the holidays, city officials wanted to stress the importance of putting only items that can be recycled into their recycle bins.
Matt Gratz, city solid waste director, said it is important to keep the bins free from contamination because the recyclables are easier to separate and sell.
Cleaner products may even be more marketable, Graz said, which under the current contract would mean more revenue for the city.
“The cleaner the material, the more money it’s worth,” he said.
The city’s recycling contract earns it half the profits from all materials residents recycle. Gratz said this has already generated $400,000 for the city this year. This revenue has helped the city reduce garbage fees twice in the past year.
To keep the materials clean, Kira Blacketor, the solid waste program manager, said residents should continue to recycle normal items like cardboard, plastic and paper. Wrapping paper and gift bags can be recycled as long as they don’t have a metallic coating. She added that residents should remove strings from gift bags before recycling.
She also asked residents to remove the plastic windows and twist ties from cardboard toy boxes before recycling and to also drain eggnog cartons. She said nog and milk cartons don’t need to be washed clean, but they should be completely empty. Lids should be recycled, but not attached to their original containers.
Ribbons and bows can’t be recycled, Blacketor said, but she stressed they could be reused for other gifts or crafts.
Christmas trees must be stripped of all decorations before they can be mulched or composted. Trees may be recycled at various drop-off locations from Dec. 26 through Jan. 13.
Residents should call the Allen County Solid Waste Management District at 449-7878 for more information on drop-off locations.
For people without a recycling cart, Gratz stressed it is not too late to order one. While it won’t arrive in time for the holidays – the carts can take a few weeks to deliver – they are available to every city household.
The city recently bought several billboard advertisements around town touting the fact the carts are still available by calling 311.
