Signs help decrease recycling contamination
BATAVIA, OH — A year of alternating signage at Pattison Park conveying messages to promote proper recycling — such as no plastic bags, empty contents of plastic bags, no garbage, flatten and empty cardboard boxes – has decreased contamination by nearly a third.
Preliminary calculations estimate a decrease from 41-percent contamination in 2020 to an estimate of 10-percent contamination now.
“We saw very little illegal dumping this time and most contamination appeared to be a misunderstanding of which plastics are accepted,” said Hannah Lubbers, director of the Adams-Clermont Solid Waste District.
The district conducted an audit in February 2020 and April 2021 at its recycling drop-off in the parking lot of Pattison Park Lakeside. The audits helped the district learn what items had been placed in receptacles and if they are recyclable.
The information will help with planning of an educational campaign. A grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency funded the campaign and audit.
The goal is for people to take advantage of free recycling opportunities in the area. For this to work, people need to know what they can and can’t put in bins. When that list changes over time, it’s important that we are continuously educating the public on what are acceptable materials. (See a full list of recycling items and locations here: https://oeq.net/recycling/.)
Clermont County had to close nine drop-off locations during the past seven years because of illegal dumping. The education campaign will aim to prevent more from closing.