SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): The City of Tucson announced closure of yet another recycling centre, due to illegal dumping of materials. The recycling centre off of 22nd and Alvernon has closed its doors by end-October this year.
Initially, the City had 13 recycling centres. However, with residents beginning to dump non-recyclable items into them and started overfilling the bins, it reduced the number of bins to half, closing 6 out of the 13. The latest closure leaves the City with only four recycling centres.
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The residents who came to drop off recyclables to the 22nd and Alvernon location were surprised to see a notice from the City saying that the centre has been officially closed. The notice stated that the decision follows long-pending issues with illegal dumping and several other issues associated with the recycling centre.
Cristina Polsgrove, Public Information Officer for the City’s Environmental Services noted that the illegal dumping persisted, despite the City adding more bins, scheduling recycling pickup on six days per week and engaging cleanup activities on five days a week. She urged residents with too much of recycling to request for a second recycling container at no extra cost.
Meantime, the City clarifies that there are no current plans whatsoever to close any of the four remaining recycling centres. However, it will evaluate the illegal dumping at these centres and take appropriate decisions, it noted.