Dive Brief:

• Lamar County, MS decided to withdraw its public recycling program due to abuse of the facility.
• The main reason behind the closure is that a significant volume of household trash is discarded into recycling bins on a continual basis. Other items such as medical waste, deceased animals and household cleaning products are also mixed with the recyclables.
• Sumerall Recycling said it couldn't afford to be involved with the potential legal violations prompted by the unapproved materials co-mingling with the recyclables. The additional time required to sort items also added untenably to the company's workload.

Dive Insight:

The county says it will close the program within the "next few weeks," according to The Clarion-Ledger. All county recycling facilities will be removed.