Ocean City scraps recycling program

Curbside recycling in Ocean City has become the latest casualty of budget cuts, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Starting next week, Ocean City will no longer offer curbside pickup of cans, bottles and papers from homes and businesses. It's a move that will save the beachside community an estimated $1 million.

"This was definitely a hard decision," said Richard Malone, deputy director of the Public Works Department, who launched the recycling program 23 years ago and pushed for its demise this month. "I can hardly describe it."

Ocean City's budget savings will come largely from eliminating staff. Of the 15 who work on the recycling program, nine are likely to be laid off in the fall unless the town's economic fortunes reverse.

Residents will now add recyclables to their trash, which will be shipped to a waste-to-energy incinerator in Pennsylvania. Residents who still want to recycle can use nearby Worcester County dropoff facilities, town officials say.