Many part-time Fountain Hills residents returning to town after their summer hiatus from the Arizona heat have found a part of their solution for recycling household waste is gone.

Late last May the Fountain Hills Sunset Kiwanis Club removed the bank of recycling bins it had in place for public use in the parking lot at the Kiwanis Activity Center on Kiwanis Drive.

Club officials said at the time that abuse at the site had become untenable. People had been using the bins as a dumping ground – not a recycling site.

It was not uncommon to find items ranging from old television sets to mattresses and any manner of other trash left behind, according to the club.

Kiwanis members would clean up the area, placing most of the non-recyclables in the trash bin at the club activity center. That quite often resulted in an additional charge from the trash collector.

The additional charges for collection, plus decreasing fees the club received for the recycled material, created a situation the club could no longer tolerate.

There are options in town for paper recycling, such as newspapers, magazines and, in some cases, cardboard boxes broken down flat. Several of the local churches and businesses host these bins and can make some extra money for charity programs, much as the Kiwanis Club did.

However, there are few options available for those with other recyclables such as aluminum cans, plastic bottles and other items.

Curbside unsorted recycling pick-up for single family residences is available through the town’s agreement with Republic Services. However, multi-family residential such as condominium or apartment complexes do not usually have separate bins for residents to recyclable.