Recycling plan has benefits

FINDLAY — Recycling will become decidedly more convenient for Hancock County residents beginning Monday. The overhead recycling doors at Litter Landing, 1720 E. Sandusky St., will be closed as of that day. But beginning then, green 8-cubic-yard collection bins will be available to the public for donation of recyclable materials at that site, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can drop off your recyclables whenever it is convenient for you. The new, green collection bins do not require the public to separate recyclable materials. You can have glass, cans, cardboard, plastics and other materials mixed together. They all go in the same green collection bin. If you prefer to keep different materials separate, you can do that, too. But in the end, they will all go into the same green recycling bins. All will be serviced by the county's new recycling contractor, Rumpke, of Ohio. The Hancock County Solid Waste Management District will still oversee the recycling program. "We believe the single stream collection bins at the 1720 E. Sandusky St. location will make the recycling process easier and simpler for the public, promote the growth of the local recycling efforts, and further efforts to protect our environment," Solid Waste Management District officials said. The 16 recycling collection stations around the county also are seeing changes. At each station, Rumpke has or will replace the larger 40-cubic-yard blue pre-sorted recycling units with the single-stream, green 8-cubic-yard collection bins. The new collection bins do not require the public to separate the materials for donation and will be serviced by Rumpke. "We are confident that these units will be serviced timely and regularly by Rumpke, reducing the onsite debris and contamination," Solid Waste Management District officials said.