Recycling services suspended in Frederick

FREDERICK, OK (KSWO) - Free recycling for people in the city of Frederick has come to a halt.

Waste Connections said they decided to stop the service they were providing because people were abusing it. A spokesperson for the company said people were putting trash in the bins instead of recyclables, and the company that takes the recycled items to in Texas has gotten strict with how much trash they allow with the recycled items. They said it used to be 20%, but that's not the case anymore.

Robert Johnston, Frederick's City Manager, said it's been a problem recently.

"There had been some people, presumably some good people, in a hurry or whatever that had offloaded some items that were not recyclable, some mattresses and things," Johnston said.

But Johnston said he was told that it wasn't just about trash being dumped in the recycle bin, but also because of trade disputes with China.

"China had made it very difficult," he said. "My understanding is they didn't say that you can't bring it over her, but they made regulations a whole lot more cumbersome. Consequently, the pipeline has gotten clogged up and no recycling is going there."

Johnston said they were trying to find a different place to put the bins when they were told the trash company was going to be picking them up for the time being. He says they've looked into having another company provide recycling for the area.

"Unfortunately everyone I've talked to said 'no, it's pretty much the whole recycling industry is suspended until further notice,'" he said.
Johnston and the spokesperson for Waste Connections said hope the recycling service will be restored, but don't know when that could happen.

Some residents have asked if their trash bills will go down because the recycling service is no longer provided, but Johnston said since it was free, it had no impact on their bills.

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