Crawford County Recycling Center outlines what is and isn't recyclable

BUCYRUS - The plastic bag Randy Burton fished out of the recyclable trailer was marked "potting soil," but that's not what was in it.

It was almost the same color as potting soil, but lighter, and formed into elongated clumps. The distinctive odor was the big give-away, as were the swarming flies.

To Burton and the other employees at Crawford County Recycling Center, the bag of excrement was just one more example of a growing problem they face daily: People are putting all kinds of crazy ... stuff ... in the county's recycling bins.

"It's getting worse," said Steve Cazzell, who has worked at the center for about five years. "When I first started, it wasn't as bad. Now there's been a lot more stuff in there."

The two tossed out examples of some of the things they see: dirty diapers, fingernail polish, vacuum cleaners, children's toys, fiberglass insulation, even dead animals. The center doesn't accept any of those items for recycling.

The center also receives a lot of window glass, which isn't recyclable — but at least they understand peoples' confusion on that. Glass from candles, plates and mugs isn't recyclable, either.

The Crawford County Solid Waste Management District and Recycling Center Facebook page has added a photo gallery dedicated to "Items we do NOT accept."

"Actually, we get full cans of food," Burton said. "Vegetables, rice, beans, crackers. And sometimes we even get bags of trash."

"Clothing," added Stephanie Surina, administrative assistant at the recycling center. "Bags and bags of clothing."

Burton gestured to a huge cardboard bin standing nearby, filled with an assortment of colored plastic bottles. "To recycle this stuff, they want it like this; these are all twos," he said, then fished out a battered, dirty quart-sized milk jug that looked as though it had spent a long time outdoors. "Like that, right there, they consider that not recyclable, because it's moldy.

"It needs to be clean to actually recycle it, to grind it up and use it. Some of the real nasty stuff, we just pitch it and throw it away."

Recyclables should be cleaned out first, they explained.

"If people leave their recyclables out with food in it, mice will crawl in it, with their babies and all that," Surina said.

A possum turned up in one trailer. Staffers had no way of knowing if it was put in there on purpose or crawled in, attracted by the smell of food. It survived the experience and was taken to Wildlife Haven in Crestline.

Aside from attracting critters, though, dirty items aren't recyclable. Having too many dirty items mixed in with clean ones is an issue, too.

"When it gets too contaminated, it doesn't even get recycled; it just goes in the landfill," Surina said of recycling trailer compartments.

The center's website, crawfordcountysolidwaste.com, lists categories of items accepted:

If it's not on the list, the recycling center does not accept it.

"It's just a way to get rid of trash for some people," Surina said. "Things they don't want to deal with."

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