As families across the community are cleaning up after the Christmas holiday, the Caldwell County recycling trailers are filling up with cardboard and other items, some of which are not acceptable at the local facility.

County Solid Waste Coordinator James Oliver said the local trailers are set up to take aluminum cans, steel cans, plastic, clear glass, cardboard, newspaper, magazines and office paper. However, there are restrictions on the specific items that can be accepted because once filled, the trailers are taken to the Farm Center in Eddyville where items are sorted.

?There are some items, for instance empty plastic detergent bottles, that have a recycling symbol on them. These can be recycled, but we can?t take them because the company we sell to does not have a grinder that will grind up those heavy bottles,? Oliver explained.

Other problem items Oliver has found in the plastic trailer include automotive oil bottles and plastic grocery bags.

?We cannot take the bags, but Wal-Mart has two collection boxes set up in front of their store for their bags,? said Oliver.

Acceptable plastic items include soda bottles, orange juice bottles and milk bottles.

Oliver said the big problem in the cardboard trailer is that some people leave styrofoam and wood inside the boxes.

?It really helps save room if people can break the boxes down and push them to the back of the trailer,? he said.

The same space issues apply to the trailer designated for newspapers, magazines and office paper. Oliver said it helps here too if people push their items to the back of the trailer.

Filling in the trailer space should be very important to the taxpayers, Oliver said, because ?it costs us the same amount to take a full load down there as it does to take a partial load.?

Another recycling trailer designated for aluminum and steel cans, is often found filled with everything from paint cans to lawn mower blades.

?The only items we can accept are the cans that are from things like soda and vegetables,? said Oliver. ?We cannot accept aerosol cans. We cannot accept scrap metal. We cannot accept baking pans or things like that.?

Oliver said he thinks some people are also confused about what clear glass items are acceptable.

?We cannot take window panes ? they do have clear glass, but the glass has been heat-treated. We cannot take any heat-treated glass, which includes your windshields and cookware,? said Oliver.

While placing unacceptable items in the recycling trailer can waste time and money, Oliver said it also wastes the good intentions of county residents interested in recycling.

?We have many people throughout the county who care about recycling and they go to quite a bit of trouble to bring their items here to be recycled, but then when trash and other items get thrown in the trailers, the whole trailer may have to go to the dump.

?When you get broken glass thrown in the trailer, it?s impossible to separate it out, so the whole trailer full or items may be wasted.?

Oliver said as the new year approaches, he and members of the county fiscal court are looking to make improvements at the recycling facility, which was relocated from Seminary Street to its current home on Eagon Street in September.

?We are in the process of getting quotes to build a fence around the property,? he said. ?We have received a grant from PADD (Pennyrile Area Development District) to help partially on the fence.?

Oliver said further in the future, he hopes to see a new dock built to make it easier for people to drop off recyclable items and if money permits, he would like to have someone on site to help keep the area straight and keep unwanted items from being dumped.

The recycling trailers are located at 200 Eagon Street.