CLAY COUNTY – Garbage was stacked inside Lindsey King’s car when she pulled into Ronnie Van Zant Park Saturday. Like thousands of her neighbors, she was adamantly committed to putting trash in its proper place – even if it means piling it up in the back seat.

As Waste Management continues to struggle with a shortage of drivers and workers, residents are left with completing the county’s recycling program on their own.

For King, that means hauling her cardboard boxes, paper, bottles and cans to one of the temporary recycling containers at the busy park that’s not far from her Lake Asbury home.

“I’m very pro the environment,” the Public Health professor from the University of Florida said. “I’m always going to recycle.”

County officials were forced to suspend the collection of curbside recyclables on Aug. 16 while Waste Management continues to look for workers. To make it easier, the county added six temporary locations to complement its five permanent recycling stations.

The difference between curbside collections and drop-offs is about 100 tons a month, said Milton Towns, deputy director of Clay County Environment Services. And while that’s a significant reduction, it exceeds expectations – and continues to grow every month.

“It’s really an unknown: how many people will take that extra effort when it’s not nearly as convenient as taking it to your curb? The drop-off program has really surprised us. We’ve had to add an 11th site, another new site for drop-off down at Kingsley Lake for those residents there because it’s quite a ride from there to any of the other sites.

“Looking at what we are collecting at the new [temporary] sites week to week is increasing. Last week, we were up to 22 tons to the new temporary sites. Quite a few people have used the drop-off locations on a regular basis and we’ve had to add extra containers.”

Glen Elliott of Green Cove Springs is one of them. When Waste Management stopped picking up his recyclables, he took matters into his own hands by taking them to Ronnie Van Zant Park.

“Recycling is good for the planet,” he said. “It’s convenient when they pick it up at the street, but this isn’t too bad. I live pretty close. And it’s the right thing to do.”

The county will continue to operate temporary satellite locations until Waste Management is able to find workers. Residents who pay for the services eventually will receive a credit. All county residents, with the exception of people inside the city limits of Green Cove Springs, Orange Park and Penney Farms, are affected by the suspension of curbside collections.

The number of recyclables collected at its five permanent locations and curbside was as much as 140 tons a month, Towns said. Drop-offs, including the six temporary locations, were measured at 36 tons last month.

Towns also said the materials left at drop-off locations also is very clean. A lot of that is attributed to the fact residents don’t want to haul dirty trash in their cars.

“The biggest thing is being able to keep up with the service schedule on the containers because some folks do not break down their cardboard boxes and that takes up air space so quickly,” Towns said.

Residents also are reminded not to recycle Styrofoam and plastic grocery bags at the temporary locations.

“I’ve lived in places where they didn’t have recycling,” King said. “So, this isn’t bad. It’s better than throwing it away.”