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Friday, Jan. 02, 2009

Video: Recyclables being dumped into garbage

A Macon resident shot video showing Macon public works employees throwing recyclables into the garbage on multiple occasions, a complaint that residents have voiced over the years.

Macon officials have said repeatedly that they had no proof for such allegations and that employees are aware they could get in trouble for throwing separated newspapers and white paper from designated recycling bins into the garbage.

Richard Powell, who took over as director of the city’s Public Works Department two weeks ago, said he has heard one anonymous complaint about this happening in the Forest Hill Road area, prompting supervisors to closely monitor garbage pickup there.

Videos labeled as being shot on four consecutive weeks from the end of November through December, as well as photos from an earlier date, were provided anonymously to The Telegraph.

They clearly show sanitation workers throwing newspapers from a recycling bin into the garbage truck, followed by the truck compacting them, and workers dumping the contents of recycling bins directly into trash cans before putting the trash into the truck.

Powell said workers caught throwing recyclable paper into the trash would first receive a verbal warning, then a written warning, progressing through the usual stages of disciplinary action.

“First we have to be sure they’re aware they’re not supposed to be doing that,” he said.

Andrew Blascovich, a spokesman for the mayor’s office, said Wednesday that the city hadn’t come to any conclusions, but it “had the appearance” of some employees taking shortcuts on their route.

“Like any citizen concern, we will do our due diligence on it,” Blascovich said.

Supervisors spot-checked garbage crews Wednesday and will be keeping an eye on the total flow of recyclable paper to see if the amount collected has dipped recently, he said.

Evan Koplin, president of Macon Iron, said the company generally received about 77 tons of newsprint a month when the city started limiting pickup of recyclables to just paper in 2004. Lately, he said, he is receiving an average of about 20 tons of newsprint a month.

Koplin said that based on studies, if the city were collecting paper for recycling the way it should be, he should be averaging about 112 tons per month.

He said he received a copy of the video several weeks ago and spoke to city government officials about it, but nothing immediately changed.

“We let the city know right away, but it continued to happen for another three weeks,” Koplin said. “It’s pretty frustrating. You have people trying to do the right thing (by recycling), and nobody seems to care.”

Officials said the Public Works Department just started tracking how often the recycling bins on each truck are emptied.

The garbage trucks have a box on the back to hold the recyclable paper, the only item Macon recycles through its curbside program.

Powell said when the boxes fill up, crews on the garbage trucks call another truck from public works to come and empty the bin without interrupting the garbage route.

Macon offered full curbside recycling from 1993 until 2004, when the city cut back to accepting just paper for recycling.

Complaints about city workers throwing out the papers surfaced shortly after the change.

The Public Works Department has had an interim director for almost two years and is in the process of hiring an assistant director for sanitation.

Koplin said the program needs to be done correctly — or not at all.

“I’d rather they discontinue it than not do it right,” he said. “Seeing this charade just makes me mad.”

Writer Travis Fain contributed to this report. To contact reporter Heather Duncan, call 744-4225. To contact reporter Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.