Earlier this week someone dumped hundreds of plastic hangers, with metal hooks and clips, into the #2 plastic bin at the Hamilton County/Red Bank recycling drop off center. This happened when the regular, super conscientious attendant was off for the MLK holiday.
Normally this particular drop off has single digit or very low double digit contamination rates, the lowest of any of the numerous drop off sites in our region. Most recycling programs today, especially mixed/single stream recycling have high double digit contamination.
It took two employees two hours to get all of the perfectly good, clean hangers out of the bin. It probably took the culprit a couple of minutes to dump them in the #2 plastic bin. If the coat hangers, had not been removed, the price paid for this particular load of #2 plastic would have been reduced, or the load could have ended up in the landfill.
If you have questions about an item, please ask the attendant before tossing it in a bin. In order to get paid for recyclables, the correct items have to be in the bin. Money is needed from the sale of recyclables to run these centers. Thank you.
Louise Mann
Signal Mountain