The city also recently launched a new “oops” program that seeks to stop recycling collections from being contaminated with trash that does not belong.
“We’re basically trying to educate and encourage our residents to recycle right,” said Fred Stovall, Dayton’s director of public works.
The city’s 2020 recycling goals was 13% of all curbside waste, according to public works information shared during a budget meeting this month.
But through the third quarter, about 8% of all waste collected by city crews was recycled, the city said.
That was about the same recycling rate as the first three quarters of 2019. But the year-end rate was about 9%.
The city has collected about 51,300 tons of trash through the end of November, which is up nearly 12% from last year, said Stovall.
But Stovall said recycling has dipped slightly to about 3,846 tons (down 0.2%).
People in communities across the region and United States are producing more curbside waste largely because they are spending a lot more time at home.
But local officials say residents aren’t recycling as much as they could and should be.
Waste volumes usually increase during the holidays, and officials worry residents will throw away many reusable items and materials.
In addition to increasing recycling, the city wants to prevent people from contaminating recycling collections with trash that is should go to the landfill.
With this goal in mind, the city officially launched its new oops program in November.
Under the program, residents will get an oops warning in the mail if they place non-recyclable materials inside their blue recycling containers.
Containers contaminated with trash will not be emptied.
Residents who put trash in the recycling bin a second time will get a second oops warning notice and an oops sticker on the lid of their bins.
If contamination happens a third time, recycling service at the associated address will be suspended for one year.
The program is not intended to be punitive, but there must be consequences when residents and property owners repeatedly contaminate the recycling stream, Stovall said.
Trash can get caught in recycling machinery, often requiring hand removal. The city’s recycling costs are impacted by trash contamination, Stovall said.
Since the program launched, the city has issued about 245 first oops notices, and two people have received a second oops warning. So far, no one has had their service cut off.
Waste collection crews perform a visual inspection of the bins and do not dig into the containers looking for trash, Stovall said. Often, workers can tell recycling is contaminated by the weight of the bins, he said.
The oops program is intended to get people to change bad behavior and recycle correctly, Stovall said, adding that the main focus is education.
During the holiday season, it’s important to remember that plastic toys like action figures are not recyclable and neither is food waste, according to Rumpke, which handling disposing of Dayton’s recycling collections.
Rumpke can recycle “blown-mold” plastics including bottles, jugs, shampoo bottles and non-toxic cleaning containers, Gayane Makaryan, corporate communications manager for Rumpke, told this newspaper earlier this year.
Some items that are often put in recycling bins that shouldn’t be include plastic bags, clothing, bed sheets and fabrics, she said.
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