WYOMING, Pa. — For one borough in Luzerne County, the job of recycling now falls to the residents. Officials in Wyoming have decided to end the service because of rising costs.
The borough says that because of rising costs, it will only coordinate garbage pickup and no longer handle recycling for residents.
Some residents online are expressing concern, but borough officials say if they continued to offer recycling services, they would have to raise everyone's waste bills by more than $100.
"We're just going to throw everything in the garbage. We're not going to separate anything," said resident Rick Davis. "Where do you think the people are going to get the money to pay, especially people retired on Social Security? Right, you know, $100 is a lot of money."
Wyoming officials say this was not an easy decision for the council to make, and other options were explored, but at this time, this is the most cost-effective option for residents.
Borough officials say they had the option to raise taxes to pay for recycling but chose not to.
Residents are welcome to continue recycling through a privately contracted service.
"Back when I was a kid, you had your own garbage hauler, and that was nice. You paid for what you gave to the garbage man," Davis said.
Residents who have strong feelings about the change are invited to attend the borough's next council meeting on January 8.