MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. – The City of Michigan issued a statement reminding the public that it is illegal to dispose of any recyclable materials other than those listed on the trash receptacles at the public recycling site located outside of Michigan City Central Services, 1801 Kentucky St.
Cameras have been installed to facilitate the identification of those illegally using the site to dump construction debris, furniture, clothing, food waste and other garbage.
“Under Indiana state law, those who dispose of unauthorized material may be charged with a Class A misdemeanor for illegal dumping, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000. They may also be charged with a Class A misdemeanor for trespass, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and up to one year in La Porte County Jail,” the Michigan city’s statement said.
“Michigan City Vector Control Director Brett Kelley and Street Department Director Shong Smith said that while their recent focus has been on beautification efforts along Franklin Street in preparation for the annual Michigan City Patriotic Parade on Saturday, June 29, city workers had to focus their energies last week on the public access area to take care of the excessive trash that had been illegally dumped there,” the city said.
“We removed 21 tons of household items that day, which cost the city a lot of resources and valuable labor,” Smith said.
Kelley said, “We are trying to make our city cleaner. We cannot allow this to continue. It reflects badly on us, both to visitors and to our residents.”
The containers contain only clean, empty recyclable materials such as glass bottles and jars, various types of paper, flattened cardboard and cans made of aluminum, tin and steel.
Objects that may not be disposed of there include construction rubble, polystyrene, ceramics, food scraps, plastic bags, garden waste, motor oil canisters, containers for hazardous waste, light bulbs and glass windows and mirrors.
Smith said trash that doesn’t belong at the public recycling facility can be taken to Able Disposal in Chesterton or Waste Management in Kingsbury.
The bins are located partly on city property at Central Services and partly on private property owned by McKinley Design, but the site is managed by the La Porte County Solid Waste District.
“There are other options for this kind of stuff,” said Clay Turner, executive director of the Solid Waste District, pointing to the overturned couches, piles of clothing and other debris that littered the site Monday. “We have an electronics trailer here for anything that has a cord. We also do special collections twice a year at the La Porte County Fairgrounds for things like tires, chemicals and books. You can find the schedule for those at www.solidwastedistrict.com.”
Eric Ivory of Borden Waste-Away Service, which owns and disposes of the bins on the site, said, “The way the public uses this site dictates our ability to clean it. Last week we arrived and saw couches and mattresses in front of the bins. That made it difficult for our drivers to get all that stuff out and get to the bins. And we know there’s going to be contamination, but it makes it harder for our team members at the facility to get things out that don’t belong in the creek. If we can work with residents, it makes it easier for everyone.”
