VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — City leaders plan to shut down two out of four drop-off recycling centers because residents are illegal dumping.
On January 6th, the First Landing State Park recycling center and the Oceana Recycling Center will close.
"I'm sad to see this go, I really am. It's not what we wanted. I have been with the city for more than three years, and I have seen an increase in illegal dumping," said Virginia Beach Recycling Coordinator Kristi Rines.
Rines shared several pictures of a full living room set, mattresses, and even a baby pool in front of the drop-off locations. She said the mess is causing a lot of work for city employees. It also is contaminating the recyclable items already in the green dumpster
PHOTOS: Illegal dumping at Virginia Beach facilities
"We tried to stand out at the sites, without closing off the sites I can't be out there at 2 a.m. telling somebody, 'hey you can't put that in that dumpster and that is what it really boils down to," Rines said.
City leaders plan to keep the Virginia Beach Landfill and Resource Recovery Center and West Neck Road Recycle Center open. Both will have gates and workers to make sure people are dumping all the right things.
"That is the idea. We will remove out the dumpsters all together. We are going to put in compactors. We will have one that will be for cardboard and another that's going to be for the mixed recyclables," she said.
Locals who use the First Landing State Park Recycling Center said they are upset to see it leave the area. Randy Grabowski worries the people who illegally dumped, could ruin recycling for a lot of people.
"It's a pretty sad state. We talk about recycling and a lot of times things like this happen and accessibility is the reason why people stop," he said.