Dive Brief:

• In Delaware, Fresh Pond’s recycling drop-off site has issued a warning that it could close entirely if residents don’t stop dumping unwanted, non-recyclable waste, such as mattresses and bicycles. Many municipalities across the nation, including Ford City, PA, have been dealing with the same problem. 
• The recycling center, which is free to residents, has posted a new sign declaring: “Recycle Center Will Be Removed for Continued Illegal Dumping. To Report Violators Call 1-800-404-7080.”
• The Delaware Solid Waste Authority operates the Fresh Pond recycling drop-off site, as well as 60 other recycling centers in the state. "That site is not scheduled to close," said Mike Parkowski, DSWA chief of business and governmental services. "That sign is [implying] that we might have to close the facility if we cannot curtail the illegal dumping that has been going on there."

Dive Insight:

Though industry officials try to premote recycling as a sustainable process, the service is made more expensive when companies or local governments have to clean up after residents who don’t dump their waste in the right places. 

These are "conscientious dumpers — people who dump it there because they know someone takes it," Parkowski said. "These are people that are doing it on purpose, which is why we want to try and catch them."