SALEM - Recycling officials want residents to dump their holiday gift boxes, mail-order boxes and wrapping paper into recycling containers, but not before flattening them first.
"We really want to stress that people break their boxes down. When you flatten everything down, there's a big difference," Carroll-Columbiana-Harrison Solid Waste District Director Chris Jacobs said.
The district is preparing for what's expected to be an onslaught of holiday recycling, from boxes gifts were shipped inside to the paper they were wrapped in and the tree they were placed under, along with bottles and cans from holiday parties.
With the recycling site near the city fire station in constant use, even without the holidays, the district added more containers in the past three weeks to handle some of the overflow.
On Friday, a temporary roll-off container will be placed at the site to handle some of the expected holiday overflow. Jacobs said they'll also start emptying the permanent containers twice a day beginning Monday.
He said residents can help contain the overflow by breaking down their cardboard boxes and flattening the wrapping paper before placing them in the containers, leaving more room for others for their recyclables instead of getting the containers filled too fast. When there is no room in the containers, residents often will put their recycling on the ground and that's not what the district wants.
In a press release, he said a container can appear full if boxes and wrapping paper aren't flattened, but "once everything is flattened, the container may only be 5 to 10 percent full."
"It doesn't take much time to break down boxes and when cardboard and wrapping is flattened, we will be able to ensure that there is room in the recycling containers for everyone's recycling this holiday season." he said in the press release. "It will also help us keep the sites looking neat and orderly. You'd be amazed how much recycling we get during this time of year."
He also suggested that residents make sure they check the next container if one container is full rather than laying their items on the ground or on top of a full container.
Jacobs noted the district can not take foil wrap or plastic wrap or bows and ribbons or styrofoam, but can take Christmas cards, envelopes and decorated bags. He suggested people use gift bags because they can be saved and used over again.
The Salem site located on South Ellsworth Avenue and entered from Filbert Street includes six paper containers, seven co-mingled containers for cans, glass and plastic and nine cardboard containers.
Jacobs appeared before the city school board in August to propose space behind Southeast Elementary School as a second recycling site for the city, but said the idea was turned down. Concerns had been raised about the traffic that could be created during school hours. Jacobs said the issue with the school kids was valid.
The district is still looking for a second site for the city on the east end, with Jacobs hopeful he'll have one lined up by spring.
He said the district wants people to continue using the recycling bins, but to use them correctly.
In a press release regarding live trees, uses suggested after Christmas were as shelters for animals and birds or as a fish habitat in a pond or lake. Trees placed in ponds or lakes should be weighted down to stop them from floating away. Trees can also be used to stop erosion washouts or for firewood.
Live Christmas trees can also be dropped off at one of several recycling sites the district is opening up from Dec. 27 to Jan. 31, with signs marking the drop-off spots. Trees will be chipped, so they should not be placed in plastic bags or still covered with tinsel or ornaments. Do not bring plastic trees or wreaths.
Christmas tree recycling sites will include Waterworth Memorial Park in Salem; JDS Landscaping on state Route14 east of Columbiana; the village garage in Rogers on state Route 7; the recycling site at the St. Clair Township road department on East Liverpool Road; the Butler Township building on Slater Road; behind the Wellsville Village building; at the Salineville Village building; and in East Liverpool on Second Street between Broadway and Jackson and at the corner of Pennsylvania and Oakland.
For information about recycling, call the district office at 1-800-980-7311 or visit the district website at www.RecyclingMakesSense.org, which includes links to the district's Facebook page and Twitter account.
Mary Ann Greier can be reached at mgreier@salemnews.net
