The Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk sees disappointing numbers in its recycling program, according to the city’s public works director.
Henry Matlosz said only about 1% of bags with recycled goods is actually recycled – the rest is treated as garbage due to contamination.
Contamination can be caused by liquids, food or other non-recyclable materials in a bag.
“We’ve had some years that are better than others, but every year they've been kind of disappointing. And I know this year was worse than last year,” Matlosz said.
Matlosz added that people have good intentions and try to recycle the right way, but it’s going to take more work from the city to improve these numbers.
“We’re going to do what we can to increase those numbers. Recycling, obviously, it's a good thing for the community, for the environment and for everyone, and we want to do what we can to make this program succeed.”
Rehoboth Beach is partnering with DNREC and the Delaware Solid Waste Authority to work on contamination criteria and reinforce recycling efforts. Part of that process will include public education using social media.
