The city of Atmore is changing its recycling center hours.

According to a press release, effective this Fri., March 10, 2017, the center’s hours will be Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. The change is being done on a trial basis.

The hour change is because many of the recyclable items left at the recycling center on E. Ridgeley St. haven’t been broken down or are being placed in the wrong bins, contaminating the materials inside of them, Mayor Jim Staff said.

The city considered several options, including closing the center, changing the hours of operations, getting volunteers to man the center and to increase garbage bills.

“Closing our recycling center will be a last resort because of the dedicated citizens who are committed to doing their part to be good stewards of the environment,” Staff said. “Some folks, however, simply will not follow the rules.”

Staff said the city is continuing to see the following prohibited items at the center:

• Cardboard boxes that are not broken down.

• Household garbage which contaminates the entire container.

• Televisions, computer monitors and other electronic devices.

Staff said the city’s recycling is being taken to the Emerald Coast Utility Authority’s new recycling facility at the Perdido Landfill in Escambia County, Fla.

The city accepts the following items at the recycling center:

• Newspaper and inserts

• Magazines and catalogs

• Junk mail and envelopes

• Cardboard

• Phone books

• Office and school papers (colored paper)

• Brown paper bags (grocery)

• Boxboard (cereal, cake and cracker boxes, etc.)

• Pizza boxes

• Plastic produce clamshells

• Plastics No. 1-7

• Plastic milk jugs, bottles and containers

• Egg cartons, cardboard only

The city doesn’t accept the following items at the recycling center:

• Empty plastic bags

• Ice cream cartons

• Waxy/paper milk cartons

• Aerosol cans

• Juice boxes and bags

• Food waste

• Garbage or yard waste

• Garden hoses

• Window blinds

• Bubble wrap

• Tarps

• Bedding or linens

• Construction materials

• Clothes

• Diapers

• Carpeting or rugs