Recycling: Don’t trash your manners on dump day

ROCKPORT — A trip to the dump on a hot, humid day will never be mistaken for a tropical cruise, but Molly Sholes says there’s no reason to make a stink about it.

Whether it’s the weather or just another sign of the collapse of civilization as we know it, things have gotten a little out of hand twice in the last month at the 4-Town Transfer Station here. On Monday, Parker Laite of Camden was charged with assault for allegedly shoving a dump attendant during a scrap about recycling cardboard. A month ago, a Rockport landscaping company claimed it was held hostage by attendants in a skirmish over the origin of a load of construction debris.

Sholes, a Rockport selectman and chairman of the Midcoast Solid Waste Corp., which administers the station for Camden, Rockport, Hope and Lincolnville, said Thursday the increasing complexity of recycling rules and the quickening tempers of users are adding an unfair burden to station workers.

“It’s been hot, and we all know that tempers grow shorter in hot weather,” she said. “The ordinances and state mandates for recycling are getting more and more specific and stringent, which makes the separation of debris more time-consuming and demanding for the user. The result is that employees get angry words for just trying to do their jobs, but they should not be expected to take physical abuse and assault.”

Sholes said there is a direct correlation between one’s familiarity with recycling procedures and the ease of a trip to the dump.

“If you take the time to learn what has to be recycled and how it has to be separated, you can get in and out pretty quickly,” she said. “If you come in with a truckload of construction debris all jumbled up, you could spend two hours separating it, and it’s not pleasant. People get mad.”

Rather than get riled, Sholes said reluctant recyclers should learn the rules.

“The attendants are not capricious, they’re not yanking people around, they’re not making things up to give people a hard time. The state says we should be recycling 34 percent right now, and we’re not there yet. If we’re going to get where we’re supposed to be, people have to educate themselves about the procedures and sort at home, use separate bags and cartons.”

The educational process should improve when a new recycling building and gatehouse under construction are completed by this winter, Sholes said.

“The way it is now, vehicles come in at all different angles. People start unloading before an attendant gets to them. With the new gate, it will be a lot more orderly. They’ll check in with an attendant first and get instructions up front. We’re also planning a major public relations campaign to get all the information and procedures on recycling to all homeowners. Recycling’s like anything else: the more you know about it, the easier it is.”