Think your recycling efforts are helping the environment? So did Tobyhanna resident Noreen Gorka. Maybe you both should think again.
Gorka, a resident of Stillwater Estates, is a recycler. She signed up with RHS Waste Services of Tobyhanna, and began working with them in March. She soon noticed their driver dumping all the recyclables in the same container as the trash. Gorka had a good view of it, since she works out of her home, and her desk faces the front window.
She called a woman named Maureen at RHS to complain. "I said I just saw your guy dump my recyclables with the garbage. She said she would talk to him," Gorka said.
Then the next time she saw the RHS truck in front of her home, the driver pulled up and dumped the garbage in, according to Gorka.
"Then he looked around to see if anyone was watching him, and dragged the recyclables to the other side of the truck, and then he opened up the door and dumped it in the same container. That's when I got angry and called you," she said.
Gorka set up a video camera and a few weeks later captured one of RHS's drivers dumping both her garbage and recyclables in the same truck.
"It made me very angry. They lied to me and wasted my time," she said.
Turns out RHS's actions weren't just wrong. They were a breach of county and state law.
"If they are mixing recyclables and trash, it is a violation of the Monroe County Waste Management ordinance and also a violation of State Act 101, which addresses the proper disposal of garbage and the separation of recyclables from the waste steam," said James Lambert, executive director of the Monroe County Waste Management Authority.
Once recyclables are separated from the waste, Lambert said, they can not be put back in. Penalties can go as high as $1,000 per incident.
It is a violation of an ordinance — a summary violation and a fine, according to Lambert.
"If they don't correct it, they could lose their license to haul garbage," he said.
Waste haulers can't load recyclables and trash on the same truck either.
"They are not allowed to say they separate it at their plant unless they have a state-permitted facility and are included in the county plan to do it," Lambert said.
If they find cause, the waste authority can issue a summons to the waste hauler.
"We do a lot of illegal dumping investigations and clean up sites. Our guys can go out and issue a summons and usually get sites cleaned up within 10 days, or go to the magistrate," Lambert said.
The most common violations are for piles of tires, trash stockpiling and construction debris sitting around for a long time.
But it's not always easy to catch violators.
"We get these complaints and, as we get them, we investigate them. If we don't witness it, we need a witness. A lot of times people don't want to be witnesses," Lambert said.
Mark Carmon, community relations coordinator for the state Department of Environmental Protection said the township is the first place an individual should go if they have a question about recycling ordinances. If they receive a complaint from an individual or the municipal waste authority, they will investigate as well. But that process isn't clear.
"Act 101 was never envisioned as an enforcement tool, but there are some enforcement criteria in it," he said.
Tobyhanna Township Zoning Officer Phyllis Haase said the township is in the process of rewriting their recycling ordinance to be more consistent with the county. She hasn't received any complaints about RHS, but works closely with the waste authority's lead investigator, Officer Pete Tambasco.
"When we have problems we contact the Monroe County Municipal Waste Authority, and they have been very proactive in addressing those problems," Haase said
RHS Waste Services did not return calls from the Pocono Record for comment.
Now, Gorka drops off her recyclables at a township collection center on Laurel Road in Tobyhanna. But she has to sort the plastics and glass.
Lambert said the municipal waste authority will investigate Gorka's complaint and, if warranted, issue a summons.
The toll-free hot line number for complaints is (888) 502-6055. Individuals also can file anonymous complaints on the waste authority's Web site at
REACH ::: Recycling, Waste Management, Paper Recycling, Glass Recycling, Cardboard Recycling, Plastic Recycling, Waste Recycling - Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority.
At least you're honest.
I sure hope residents who separate trash for recycle aren't wasting their time due to issues like this. I know my uncle has to separate his trash in 3 ways, greens (grass, leaves, plants, etc.. , bottles (plastics, glass, etc.. and regular trash what a process the city requires.
Why do those who tossed that and papers with their SSNs on it put that private information into the bins? 
:rl: