Curbside recycling set to resume in Centre County, with some changes to keep crews safe

A small bit of pre-COVID-19 normalcy will return to Centre County when curbside recycling resumes Monday.

The Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority suspended the service March 30 to limit the spread of coronavirus, a move that was always meant to be temporary, the CCRRA’s Joanne Shafer said Wednesday.

“At the time that the suspension occurred, there was a lot less known about the persistence of the coronavirus on surfaces than what we know today,” said Shafer, deputy director and recycling coordinator.

The CCRRA factored in research, industry regulations and a greater availability of protective equipment for workers such as gloves and masks in making the decision Wednesday to resume collection, Shafer said.

When collection starts back up, residents are asked not to place potentially contaminated items at the curb. Anyone in a household with members who have been sick, are quarantined or have tested positive for COVID-19 is asked to hold off recycling for a week before placing items outside to be picked up. Additionally, trash should be placed in closed or tied bags.

In the borough of State College, bulk items should be placed at the curb at least three days before collection.

Collection workers were shifted to the recycling processing facility, Shafer said, to help clear backlogs and “have everything really cleaned up by the time that we were going to reinstitute curbside collection.”

The additional drop-off containers that were placed around the county will remain for at least two more weeks, Shafer said, as residents ease back into the curbside program. During the past month, recycling has dropped slightly, she said, but corrugated cardboard collection has increased. That’s likely because people are at home and doing more online shopping — and those items are delivered in packages.

This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 5:03 PM.