LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18)– Cold temperatures in Lexington led to a bit of a freeze up Thursday at the Lexington recycling center. That stall caused any materials put out for recycling Friday to go straight to the landfill.
Despite the organization at the recycling center, sometimes the weather calls the shots.
“When you have the extreme frigid temperatures like you have now. I think it’s about 17-18 degrees, it really creates a lot more havoc,” said Lexington Recycling Plant Manager Barry Prater.
The havoc caused a 2.5 hour back up.
“Yesterday we had an extremely difficult day because of the frozen cardboard, the other frozen materials that was coming in inside the holding area and as that material goes through the plant, it affects all the other machinery,” said Prater. “If crews don’t spot any frozen material before it’s dumped onto the conveyer belt, that’s when it can get inside the machine and cause a clog.”
He said that if you don’t keep the lid to your recycling container down, water is going to get in and the cardboard will soak it up. Then it will freeze.
“Basically we’re asking the public either to hold on to next week if they possibly can and/or because basically, it’s going to go to the, anything today would actually end up going to the transfer station, which is, just the way it is,” said Prater.
That transfer station is what is more commonly known as the landfill.
