Jay County Solid Waste District is there to help. But its job is not to clean up your mess.

Issues with Jay County residents leaving their recyclables where they’re not supposed to have been a regular problem for years.

The solid waste district’s board bought signs to place at the recycling trailers and at the district office in an effort to solve the problem. It later spent thousands of dollars to put in security cameras at the district office.

Still, the behavior continues.

On Dec. 31, the district announced on its Facebook page that the recycling trailers at Jay County Sheriff’s Office and Bloomfield Elementary School were full. It was noted that they could not be emptied until Jan. 4. (That should not have surprised anyone, given the holidays.) It was asked that no one leave additional items at those sites until the trailers had been emptied.

But by Monday, Jay County Sheriff’s Office had posted a photo of recyclables left outside of the locked trailers. And it wasn’t just a few items. It was a large pile of boxes, bags and even loose cardboard.

In simple terms, someone — or several someones — left their mess for someone else to clean up.

That’s not a nice surprise to find at work anytime, let alone after the holidays.

The recycling trailers are provided for the community at no cost to the taxpayers. Funds that pay for using the trailers, hauling them and recycling the items come from tipping fees at Jay County Landfill. And the cost continues to go up.

If the community wants to continue to have this recycling option available, we need to follow the rules.

If the trailers are open, place your items inside in an orderly manner.

If they are locked, they are full. Either head for another trailer or take your items back home with you.

It’s a privilege to have recycling trailers provided for public use.

Please make sure you’re using them properly. — R.C.