SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): Mason City Recycling Center announced that it has temporarily stopped accepting glass and plastic for recycling.

According to the Center, it has been finding great difficulty in getting the above items recycled. However, it continued to accept the materials from Mason City residents as usual. The space has now filled up and there is no recycling center to take the items for recycling, which in turn has forced the Mason City Recycling Center to stop accepting them for the time being, until an alternative arrangement is finalized.

Mason City administrator Aaraon Burnett noted that it continued to collect these materials hoping to find a new outlet for these materials. It is still hopeful of arriving at a short-term solution, Burnett said.

The abrupt change in market demand and the rapid fall in prices of some recyclables have led to the troubling situation. Only certain categories of plastics such as No.1 and No.2 has demand in the market. The Recycling Center accepts plastics Nos 1-7, but most of them end up in landfill without being recycled. The Center currently has a huge stock of commingled plastics at its premises.

The City administrator hopes to start accepting plastics again in early spring. Also, it is looking for finding a solution so that users can start dropping glass at the earliest.