To be honest, attending the weekly Lycoming County Commissioners Meetings is a little bit like panning for gold. The prospector might pan for weeks before a shiny nugget suddenly appears. Such was a moment on Tuesday, April 6th, when after an hour of various routine matters had been discussed and voted on, the commissioners’ comments turned toward the various recycle collection boxes located throughout the county. Commissioner Tony Mussare started off noting that all the commissioners had received “many, many phone calls from constituents and public officials” about the problem of the small openings on the boxes. He noted that this prevented from getting in the “really big pieces of plastic that are really needed.” He concluded his comments by noting that “we (the commissioners) need to look into remodifying that (the design of the box opening) again.”

What followed was one of the most fascinating commentaries that I remember hearing in a meeting. Jason Yorks, the Lycoming County Resource Management Center director, was still on the phone connection as he had four items on the agenda that day. His business had been concluded, but he wisely stayed on the line. What followed next was so good, I have transcribed his three-and-a-half-minute extemporaneous response for reading. It has been cleaned up slightly for pauses and repetitions, but this is essentially what Director Yorks explained:

“Commissioners, if I might, first off, the size of the openings are scaled to the size to the size of the objects that we can accept for recycling. The large rigid products that we were getting were being bailed and stored; we had those in storage for three years looking for places to send them. We really have no outlets for the rigid plastic such as laundry baskets, kitchen sets, swimming pool covers. No time did I ever say that swimming pool covers, and liners were recyclable.

“People have been abusing the drop-off box system for decades. I would also like to reiterate, multiple times I tried, that the drop-off system is a service provided by RMS through the sale of product and scale sales at the landfill. This isn’t a tax-payer-funded system. We tried to provide a service to the host municipalities as a benefit to the citizens.

“Unfortunately, when I was recycling coordinator, I did not push for a modified opening. A lot of municipalities already had modified openings based on what is typically accepted recyclable products. One of the situations we’ve discussed many times with you is this fluctuation of the markets. The fluctuation does not help. Most of the time, we do not have any outlets for the type of things that people are trying to recycle.

“The holes are there for a reason! Unfortunately, the public has gotten away with giving us bags of used cat litter, bags of diapers, just absolute gross things that you or I would not want to sort through. The items are just atrocious. This system is programmed, as we’ve talked about, and needs to be as sustainable as possible. And that must be through the use of the right product that is recyclable so that we are not spending funds sending stuff to the landfill that we have to sort through.

“While I hear the concerns, people have no understanding at the drop boxes in the sense that they are seeing inconvenience for the five minutes it takes them to put the bottles in the hole, but if they were on our side, and our staff has to rummage through their diapers, their cat litter, their food scraps, plastic objects that don’t fit into anything — the abuse is unreal.

“Quite frankly, last year with COVID, we had to shut down with the unknowns of COVID at the time; this was the time that we needed to restart the clock. So much, commissioners, I would say, that other counties, other municipalities, other entities that have landfilling and recycling facilities have reached out to us for copies of our design drawings of the boxes because of the effectiveness and the concerns that they are seeing the same things as well. It is a necessity. It is a necessary evil. People are abusing the drop boxes.”

Sometimes a writer cannot say it any better than the source material (which is available, by the way, on the county website: lyco.org, under commissioner’s meetings). There was a bit more tete-a-tete with the commissioners after Director Yorks finished, but this was the essence of the message. And it is a message we all should be heeding.

There are 40 such recycling containers located around the county, and everything from satellite dishes, bed mattresses, lawn chairs, and car parts has been attempted to be forced into these or just left beside them. The recycle renegades are hurting us all — causing thousands and thousands of lost man-hours and definitely NOT helping the environment.

Please take a few minutes and go to the county’s website: http://lyco.org/Departments/Resource-Management-Services/Recycling/What-is-Recyclable, and educate yourself on what is and what is not recyclable. For the most part, plastic containers, cans, glass, cartons, and paper are acceptable. The glass should not be broken, and the paper should not be styrofoam or foil gift wrap. But PLEASE — no plastic bags or plastic wrap, no clothing or linens, no food or liquids, no “tanglers” such as hoses, wires, chains, or electronics. At the Landfill location itself off of Rt. 15 South in Montgomery, items such as electronic devices, appliances, and wood waste can be dropped off.

We are extremely fortunate to have such a well-managed resource management system in our local area. It produces a healthy profit and is a trendsetter for other such facilities in our region. Hats off to Director Jason Yorks and the amazing and largely thankless job that he and his crew do for Lycoming County.