Two tons of recyclables found unusable in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Kalamazoo, Michigan, is reminding its citizens to throw only approved recyclables into recycling bins after an entire load of materials could not be recycled because it included a high level of unrecyclable items, reports MLive.com, a news organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The city of Kalamazoo was notified April 14 that an entire load of recyclables, 2.39 tons of material, was found to contain high percentages of nonrecyclables and could not be mechanically sorted. The unwanted yield included items such as yard waste, tires, trash bags, household trash and many other nonrecyclable items, the city says.

The incident happened as many people are staying home for extended periods of time, and some are not working or working from home, in light of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order.

“We understand that the stay at home order may have resulted in increased trash per household, but everyone must do their part in keeping the recycle stream as clean as possible,” the city says in a news release.