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Dumpers endanger Bainbridge recyclng center
(by Joan Demirjian - December 16, 2009)
Dumpers endanger Bainbridge recyclng center
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
If things don't improve at the Bainbridge recycling center, people could be looking elsewhere to take cardboard, cans, plastic and paper.
In a discussion Monday, Bainbridge Township Trustees said the dumping of trash at the recycling bins continues.
"It's a trash dump," Trustee Matthew Lynch said. He suggested that people might be better off recycling on their own.
"We have had nothing but problems with it," Trustee Linda White said.
Resident Mitch Fakadej has served as a volunteer at the center located off Haskins Road next to the township road department. It's a mess, he said.
Some of the worst offenders are the most educated people who live in "extravagant homes," he said. And many of those who abuse the center are from outside the township, Mr. Fakadej said.
He picks up the addresses off the cardboard that is left on the ground, instead of being flattened and placed in the bins. Letters are sent by the township to those people, advising them of the situation.
Mr. Fakadej said, in one case, a Chagrin Falls resident left boxes stacked on the ground, and he went to the person's house to notify him.
"No matter what we do, people throw in things that don't belong," he said. People do not read the signs posted around the center about not leaving things on the ground, Mr. Fakadej said. They also go to extremes to throw in nonflattened boxes by opening up the tops of the bins, he said. "When people can't police themselves, get rid of those containers." No matter how many containers there are, it won't make a difference, he said.
Ms. White said, when people complain about what others are doing at the site, she has asked for volunteers but received few responses.
Resident Gina Zahn suggested that the recycling center should be located somewhere where it's more visible. She has reported offenses to the Geauga County Sheriff's Department, which has a deputy to patrol recycling centers. So far, it hasn't done any good, and people are not fined, she said.
"We have to keep it cleaned up or get rid of it," Mr. Lynch said.
The township pays $600 per month for the cardboard recycling, and it has been the biggest problem, Ms. White said.
Trustee Jeffrey Markley said they need to learn how successful centers operate and how Bainbridge's center is different. Isolation of the site is one issue, although the road department has been a big help, he said of its location adjacent to the recycling containers.
Mr. Lynch questioned whether there is any way to know how much a recycling center saves the environment. "I suspect very little," he said.
Mr. Markley is to take on the task of looking into other recycling centers and bring a recommendation to the board.
Resident Scott Barren suggested that a committee might be formed, which could become a project of an organization, such as Boy Scouts in the community.
Ms. White said, "It's been a constant problem for four solid years. How can you educate people when educated people can't be educated? How many signs can you put up?"
People are verbally abusive as well, and when letters were sent out, which she signed, she received must of the verbal abuse, Ms. White said. She had to call police to report one incident, she said. "We get telephone calls of people yelling and carrying on after we send them letters."
Mr. Lynch said he doesn't want to close the center, but, "I don't want to keep it open if it's not being run properly and if it is not a benefit to the community."
He has questioned the environmental benefits of recycling when fuel is used to drive there and to truck the items to a recycling center. He said he intends to look into those issues.
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