ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Rather than saving money, Orange County's recycling program is costing more than it should, because some residents are putting nonrecycling items in recycling bins.
- Orange County recycling effort costing county money
- People putting nonrecyclables in recycling bins, officials say
- County urging people to 'Think 5' when recycling
"We're processing all residents' garbage, over 2,000 tons a day," said Doug McPherson of the county's Solid Waste Division.
Now, officials are asking the county's 220,000 residents to "Think 5" before tossing items in their recycle bins.
What they want to see in recycle bins are these five items: plastic, metal and glass containers, as well as paper and cardboard.
"If everyone recycles as much as they can and they recycle correctly, we can save landfill space. We can save resources and energy," Orange County Utilities Services Specialist Jessica Kitt said.
That may sound easy enough -- pictures on the bins show residents which items they should toss in.
Orange County resident Hilary Short says she's got the process down to a science. She says it only takes a minute and people should care more.
"I hear people say, 'Oh we don’t bother with recycling,' " Short said. "It's wrong..."
Workers routinely find nonrecyclable items such as coolers, vacuum cleans, clocks and children's toys among the items tossed for recycling.
Workers call these items "contaminates" -- and if a recycling load is too contaminated, the entire load will end up in a landfill, Orange County workers say, because they cannot sift through tons of refuse and pick out items that should not be there.
County workers want you to remember this phrase: If you're in doubt, leave it out.
Higher waste fees could come in the future because of extra handling to get rid of all the stuff that doesn't belong in the recycle bins.