GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The City of Greensboro is taking steps to make people smarter about what items they can and can't recycle.
Since July, the Waste Reduction Team has inspected 18,500 recycling containers to try to reduce the amount of non-recyclable items going to the Recycling Center.
It's all part of the city's "Recycle Right" campaign. The inspectors found more than 5,000 times people didn't follow the City's recycling rules.
In fact, citywide, about 22 percent of the material people put in recycling cans is not recyclable. The city says that figure is worse than national averages of 5 to 10 percent.
The Waste Reduction Team issued warnings to people who didn't have proper items in their recycling bins. The violations are not a fine - they're intended to remind people of the recycling guidelines.
After three violations, 14 homes had their recycling bins removed. Those people can get their bins back after they meet with the Waste Reduction Team.
Greensboro has about 90,000 recycling cans that it services. As of November 5, the Recycle Right Campaign issued:
- 5,306 first-time violations
- 371 second-time violations
- 57 third-time violations
Tori Carle, waste reduction supervisor for Field Operations, says some homes tossed items like plastic bags and Styrofoam into their recycling bins, which cannot be recycled in Greensboro, as well as food waste and other garbage.
Carle says recycling right actually saves you money. Putting the wrong items in the recycling bin can cause damage to expensive equipment.
Carle says recycling the wrong items also makes Greensboro's recyclables less attractive on the retail market, which means Greensboro earns less for recycling materials.
If you need help recycling, download the GSOCollects app, which provides a search feature to find out what can be recycled.
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