The Delaware Solid Waste Authority is planning on streamlining its recycling program to four main sites in Delaware in an effort to address problems like illegal dumping and contamination.
Officials with the DSWA recently announced their intentions to have four main collection centers in all three counties. They will be Cheswold Collection Station, the Delaware Recycling Center in New Castle, Jones Crossroads Landfill in Georgetown, and a new location in Newark.
The locations will be staffed during the day and operate between 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. They will collect electronics, single stream recycling, cardboard, household batteries, used oil and oil filters and Styrofoam.
Additionally, personnel on site will be able help ensure household garbage is not being placed with recyclables, which can cause contamination of an entire bin of material.
Collection sites that are not located at DSWA facilities will eventually be removed while nine existing collection sites on the agency's facilities will remain operational.
The move was welcomed by some regular visitors to the recycling center in Cheswold, which had fences and a gate installed some time ago to help prevent illegal dumping.
"You can't just have that honor system anymore. Maybe it's just this day and age but it's a shame that people just can't do the right thing," said Kaitlynn Raymond of Dover.
Robert Fleming, who visited the Cheswold site on Monday, said he was pleased that additional actions were being taken by the DSWA to protect a service that benefits the community and the environment.
"Before they put this fence up there used to be chairs, TVs and all kind of crap laying around," he said. "They're doing something that's good for everybody."
