WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – It’s what we do to give back to the environment, and it is going to become a lot simpler now that the Ohio County Solid Waste Authority has announced that they are going to be accepting number five plastic, scrap metal, and more.
Number 5 plastic includes plastics like to-go containers, fruit and yogurt cups, and plastic kitchenware containers.
This also means that bottle caps and lids on containers now do not need to be removed.
They are also accepting all scrap metal besides refrigerants.
Executive director, Rebecca Friend, says that these new additions are a relief on landfills, and another step towards helping the environment.
“We’ve been turning away a lot of number fives in the past and that was one of the exciting new things about switching haulers was because a lot of people were very discouraged because they’re like ‘What do you do with it?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, we just can’t accept it, so, unfortunately, it has to go in your curbside collection.’ And so now, instead of going into your landfill, it is going up to Waste Management in Neville Island to be recycled up there.”
Rebecca Friend – Executive Director of the Ohio Valley Solid Waste Authority
For every 500 ponds of plastic number 4 they collect – such as, bubble wrap, case over wrap, grocery bags – a park bench gets created and gifted to Ohio County made from the recycled materials.
There are already many throughout the community, and it is always exciting to see more pop up.
The Ohio County Solid Waste Authority is hosting their yearly Hazardous Waste Collection Event on September 24 for all West Virginia residents at the empty lot between Hobby Lobby and Cabela’s at The Highlands, and they host free tire collections every 2nd and 4th Saturdays every month from 8 a.m. to noon.