On a recent Sunday afternoon, two women wearing dresses and heels got out of a minivan in the parking lot of The News Courier, grasped the sides of the huge green receptacle for recycling newspapers and dove in.
Not “dove,” exactly, but leaned into the openings — each about four feet from the ground — and reached as far as they could in an effort to reach the coupon fliers inserted into Sunday’s papers.
While it’s true that the items are being left for recycling, this trend of “Dumpster diving” for coupons poses hazards, according to newspaper and recycling center managers.
“We’re getting bombarded with this stuff,” said Linda Hall, office manager of Rock-Tenn Recycling in north Huntsville. “It’s been ridiculous and they’re not using their heads.”
Hall said she believes the debut of the show “Extreme Couponing” on TLC has led to an increase in the phenomenon.
“We used to get people every now and then but now they’re hitting us hard and heavy,” she said.
TLC executives ordered 12 additional episodes of Extreme Couponing to begin a second season in September.
“Extreme Couponing has struck a chord with our viewers and has sparked a passion in people who are looking for creative ways to save money,” said Amy Winter, the network’s general manager, in a press release. “The series is creating even more super shoppers and we are lining our shelves with their remarkable stories.”
Rock-Tenn and The News Courier have policies against allowing people to remove papers from receptacles for safety reasons.
“We have heavy equipment in the plant,” she said. “It’s illegal for people to come onto this property.”
She and Monica Belue, circulation clerk for The News Courier, said people are putting their children in the bins so they can retrieve coupons.
“Imagine how hot it is in those bins and there could be snakes in them,” Hall said. She said because of safety concerns, she will call authorities if people come on the property without permission.
Carey Carter, safety coordinator for The News Courier, said the newspaper would be liable if someone got hurt climbing on a receptacle.
However, Alex Smith, manager of Athens-Limestone Recycling Center, said he has no problem allowing people to retrieve newspapers or other items. The receptacles at the local center are not as large as the one at The News Courier.
Smith said he feels the trend began with the downturn in the economy.
“We’ve had families come through here who say they’ve reduced their grocery bill from $150 to 45 or 50 bucks,” Smith said. “As long as they’re recycling, we don’t have a problem with it.”
Hall and Belue said people should keep in mind coupons in newspapers that have been discarded are typically expired. The News Courier keeps papers to sell inside its offices for about a month before placing them in the bins.
“A lot of them are out of date because the newspaper sits in the bin so long,” Hall said. “It takes several weeks to fill the large ones. These people need to realize what they’re looking for is probably not going to be any good anyway.”
Not “dove,” exactly, but leaned into the openings — each about four feet from the ground — and reached as far as they could in an effort to reach the coupon fliers inserted into Sunday’s papers.
While it’s true that the items are being left for recycling, this trend of “Dumpster diving” for coupons poses hazards, according to newspaper and recycling center managers.
“We’re getting bombarded with this stuff,” said Linda Hall, office manager of Rock-Tenn Recycling in north Huntsville. “It’s been ridiculous and they’re not using their heads.”
Hall said she believes the debut of the show “Extreme Couponing” on TLC has led to an increase in the phenomenon.
“We used to get people every now and then but now they’re hitting us hard and heavy,” she said.
TLC executives ordered 12 additional episodes of Extreme Couponing to begin a second season in September.
“Extreme Couponing has struck a chord with our viewers and has sparked a passion in people who are looking for creative ways to save money,” said Amy Winter, the network’s general manager, in a press release. “The series is creating even more super shoppers and we are lining our shelves with their remarkable stories.”
Rock-Tenn and The News Courier have policies against allowing people to remove papers from receptacles for safety reasons.
“We have heavy equipment in the plant,” she said. “It’s illegal for people to come onto this property.”
She and Monica Belue, circulation clerk for The News Courier, said people are putting their children in the bins so they can retrieve coupons.
“Imagine how hot it is in those bins and there could be snakes in them,” Hall said. She said because of safety concerns, she will call authorities if people come on the property without permission.
Carey Carter, safety coordinator for The News Courier, said the newspaper would be liable if someone got hurt climbing on a receptacle.
However, Alex Smith, manager of Athens-Limestone Recycling Center, said he has no problem allowing people to retrieve newspapers or other items. The receptacles at the local center are not as large as the one at The News Courier.
Smith said he feels the trend began with the downturn in the economy.
“We’ve had families come through here who say they’ve reduced their grocery bill from $150 to 45 or 50 bucks,” Smith said. “As long as they’re recycling, we don’t have a problem with it.”
Hall and Belue said people should keep in mind coupons in newspapers that have been discarded are typically expired. The News Courier keeps papers to sell inside its offices for about a month before placing them in the bins.
“A lot of them are out of date because the newspaper sits in the bin so long,” Hall said. “It takes several weeks to fill the large ones. These people need to realize what they’re looking for is probably not going to be any good anyway.”