Just a Thought

 

The City’s Recycling Center at Disbrow Park is an eyesore, overflowing by mid-day every Saturday. Don’t blame it on the Department of Public Works or the fact that more residents are ordering online because of the stay-at-home order and that a trip to the dump has become the equivalent of the Sunday drive of old.

 

When the DPW crew arrives first thing Monday morning, they are confronted by towering mounds of non-flattened cardboard boxes, metal objects which are not permitted, half-filled bottles, dirty diapers, and a lot worse. The result is the crew must devote far too much time to cleaning up the mess left by residents — and many non-residents —before they can make room for the tons of items picked up by DPW on their regular recycling routes and carloads of items dropped off by residents.

 

It’s high time the City close off the recycling area on weekday afternoons before the crew leave for the day — as neighboring communities do — and keep it closed on weekends. In normal times, the surrounding area is the place to be for young baseball players and their families and residents walking their dogs and teaching their children how to ride bikes.

 

Public safety is at stake with trucks and oversized vehicles speeding past baseball fields on their way to what has become a dump. And if we love our DPW, as is often stated at City Council meetings, shouldn’t we show the workers greater respect?

 

• Robin Jovanovich