CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte residents will have to cut down their cardboard into 18-inch-by-18-inch sections to be recycled, officials said.
The previous size the city required was for cardboard boxes to be broken down into 3-feet-by-3-feet sections.
The change was made because of complaints from residents, city officials said.
A recycling crew said Thursday the new rule will keep cardboard from getting stuck in bins, which has caused recycling to get left behind.
Officials emphasized that the new, smaller requirement to keep that from happening is a loose standard.
"We want to make sure that your cardboard fits loosely into your cart,” Erica Robinson, with Charlotte Solid Waste Services, said.
But the new requirement doesn’t sit well with some.
"When you add another step to people's lives, yeah, I mean, they're going struggle with compliance," resident Jennifer Hill said.
City officials said there's a grace period for residents. They don't have to cut their cardboard down that small now, but that ends Jan. 31. If the cardboard is not cut down after that, it may not be picked up by the city.
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