City of Mt. Vernon asks residents to not put trash in recycling bins

Recycle service will be removed entirely if bad actors continue to put trash in bins, contaminating recyclables
Mt. Vernon residents are being asked to not put their trash in the two paper recycling bins located in the Spirit of ’76 Park. Max Springer, city administrator, said putting trash in the bins results in an entire load of recyclable paper having to be discarded, undoing the bins’ purpose.
“It contaminates the whole bin, and (the load) therefore ends up going to the dump,” he said.
Springer said people have been putting their trash in the bins. At first, he said, it was happening only occasionally, but it “has become more frequent.”
Springer said that Purina, which put the bins in the park, warned the city that the bins will be removed if people continue to put trash in them.
“Purina has told us (that) any further incidents, and they will remove the bins permanently,” Springer said.
If the bins are to stay, Springer said, Mt. Vernon residents must observe the rules regarding what can be placed in them. Acceptable materials include: newspaper, flat card board such as pizza boxes, cereal boxes, phone books, catalogs, loose paper and envelopes. Besides trash, plastic bags and corrugated cardboard should not be put in the bins.
 “This program relies on the integrity of all who use the bins,” Springer said. “It is about our community working together to take care of our environment, however, as with anything there are those who just don’t care.”
Henceforth, the bins may be locked on nights and weekends to prevent people from putting more trash or other unauthorized materials in them.