INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Department of Public Works has shut down two neighborhood recycling drop-off locations after continued illegal dumping, leaving only six sites open citywide.
That's caused concern for many residents who told WRTV they use the sites all the time.
"Thousands of people follow the rules, and a few don't, and then it ruins it for everybody," Merrill Eggleston said.
Eggleston is a dedicated recycler.
"My weekly recycle. I brought my bags and everything," he said with a laugh.
He, and many others on the city's north side, used the site behind the Kroger at East 71st St. and Binford Blvd. all the time.
“I always come on Tuesday because Tuesday is the pickup day," Eggleston said. "And then I don't have to fight with all the things being totally full.”
“This was convenient and pretty simple," Rick Bergman, who lives only a couple of minutes from the site, explained. "So I got started. I got a big container that we just throw stuff in."
They were shocked when they arrived early Tuesday afternoon.
"I know they took it away from Fall Creek. They took it away from Pendleton Pike, and now they’ve taken it away from 71st and Binford... what a shame," Eggleston said.
"I didn't know. I didn't have any clue," Bergman said.
The Department of Public Works closed three recycling sites across the city in the last two weeks. Those include:
- 9835 Fall Creek Road
- 8130 Southport Road
- 71st Street and Binford Avenue
Kyle Bloyd, Chief Communication Officer with DPW, said it's because of illegal dumping.
"People are unfortunately abusing the sites," Bloyd said. "People are putting stuff that is very clearly non-recyclable in or around the bin."
That includes things like old toilets, bags of regular trash and even garbage from construction sites
"It's very unfortunate," Bloyd said. "One, it can end up in contamination of that recycling bin, and you are not able to recycle those materials. And second, it's not being a good neighbor."
Yet, residents who have used it properly are just frustrated.
“It's a shame," Eggleston said. "I understand where DPW is coming from, in regards to the fact that people won't follow the rules… but there's thousands of us that do.”
The decision is even enough for some to reconsider their recycling plans.
"It's gonna make me think about it twice," Bergman said.
Bloyd said residents in Indianapolis will soon have curbside recycling, but not until 2028.
In the meantime, Bloyd suggests using the other recycling sites that are still open. You can find them on DPW's website here.
