THOMASVILLE — City of Thomasville officials are considering several remedies for local recycling ills, including consolidating the city’s two recycling sites.

Consolidation is planned for within 30 days, said Chris White, Thomasville Utilities superintendent.

Consolidation of the sites has been discussed for close to a year, White said. 

“It’s time to move forward with it,” he said Tuesday.

The two recycling collection sites will be consolidated to the site behind the emergency medical service/fire station off Remington Avenue. Long-range plans call for the location to be fenced and signs and surveillance equipment installed.

Closing the site, which will not be manned, at night is being considered.

At a Keep Thomas County Beautiful (KTCB)-sponsored meeting Monday night, KTCB board chairman Sally Bowman said the organization’s mission is to inspire beauty and to protect the environment.

“Today, we’re going to focus on recycling,” she said. 

Bowman said she wanted to dispel false information that city recycling bins go to the landfill with no recycling of contents.

In 2018, 867 tons of materials were submitted for city recycling. Of that, 511 tons were recyclable, Bowman said.

Recycling bins that went to the landfill were contaminated with food, broken glass and plastic bags, among other nonrecyclable items.

Artie Newcombe, a KTCB board member, asked those attending the meeting to raise their hands if they recycle. Almost everyone raised their hands.

Only plastic containers with numbers 1 or 2 are recyclable, a woman said, but many containers have the number 5.

Newcombe described other contamination as dead animals, dirty diapers, and animal waste and furniture.

A recycling bin emitting a foul odor goes straight to the landfill, said Jimmy Smith Jr., who heads the city solid waste department.

If one is recycling plastic and puts it in a plastic bag and deposits the bag in a recycling bin, “that is not recyclable,” a man said.

No one wants a higher utility bill, a woman said, adding that some people cannot pay their utility bills now.

“Our issue is we have no place to take it,” City Manager Alan Carson said.

Smith said recyclable cardboard previously sold for $200 a ton. The price now is $40 a ton.

Newcombe said take-out food comes in containers that must be disposed of, along with plastic water bottles and beverage cans.

“Are you thinking about that? … That’s the challenge,” he said.

Some 85 percent of contamination is in plastic bins, Smith interjected.

Bowman regrets the loss of the “visible” downtown recycling site, but understands the city’s need to consolidate. 

“I hope the city will include measures to prevent contamination at the consolidated site,” she said.

Bowman said KTCB will assimilate information from the meeting, note key takeaways and make recommendations to the city.

“One thing is clear: Continued education about what is recyclable and what constitutes contamination is necessary,” Bowman said. “This is an ongoing need that will never end as our recycling abilities change.”

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820