Recycling Bins Misused, Materials Are Dumped, Have Never Been Recycled

A mangled roll of barbed wire was thrown near the recycling container at Chalybeate Fire House.

Darren Doyle, story and photos
For those of you that have taken the time to sort out your trash, travel to one of the recycling containers at either Kyrock or Chalybeate, and place your recyclable materials into the appropriate bins, you might want to reconsider next time, because apparently, it's a complete waste of time.

Judge Wil Cannon said that a spokesperson from Scott Waste told him that none of the materials collected in an Edmonson County bin have ever been recycled, due to improper use of the bins. 

Carl Lindsey, a member of the Chalybeate Fire Department Board addressed the fiscal court today requesting help in catching those who are simply using the locations as their own personal dumps. Lindsey said someone at the fire station is consistently removing garbage from the area around the containers, and recently found a recliner dumped near the bin.

​ Just to be clear, there is not a designated bin for "Broken Recliners."

He said people dump everything in the bins from food scraps, household garbage, old clothes, and yes, even furniture. According to Cannon, Scott Waste will not recycle any of the material if the materials are mixed up. If someone places an aluminum can in the "cardboard" section, Scott's Waste will not sort the material, but instead dump all of the contents as trash.

"For the people that have been trying to properly recycle this whole time, they've wasted their time," Cannon said. Scott's doesn't sort the material, that's what the bins are for. When they're not used properly, Scott's is just going to dump it."

Above left: plastic containers are mixed with cans in the "Cans" bin. Above right: A plastic garbage bag is tossed in the "Cardboard" bin, both of which will cause the entire load to simply be dumped as trash.

Mr. Lindsey said that he and other volunteers regularly clean up the site, but it's getting more difficult to maintain. "Somebody just threw down a whole roll of barbed wire out there," he said, "We'll take care of it, because I care about Edmonson County, but we either need some help, or they just need to be moved out of here."

​Just to be clear, there's no bin labeled "Barbed Wire."

Even though several residents have complained about Scott Waste's service in the past, the containers are part of the county's waste contract. Scott Waste is not going use extra resources and manpower to sort out the materials, nor should they be expected to. 

Both Kyrock and Chalybeate Fire Departments offer the use of their property for the containers as a free service to the community. Not only do those folks go out and risk their lives fighting fires and providing emergency services, they're also picking up old clothes and broken recliners that people have dumped on them. For free.

It's not hard at all to see that the container is not a regular dumpster, and each section is clearly labeled. Why go to the trouble of making a trip to the container and not properly using it? Signs probably wouldn't help much; if people aren't obeying the labels, they're not likely to obey a sign.

​County officials and law enforcement wish for folks to respect rules, property, and appreciate free services that are offered in Edmonson County. If nothing changes, you're likely to see the containers removed sooner rather than later.