Lee County officials have decided that the public drop-off recycling station in Dixon will be removed Friday, Aug. 29, after repeated illegal garbage dumping at the site.

The location at 2001 W. Fourth St. in Dixon will be moved to another location in the city, likely a city-owned lot, once a suitable place is identified. In the meantime, county officials are encouraging Dixon residents to utilize any of the five other recycling stations in Ashton, Franklin Grove, Paw Paw, Steward and Sublette, according to an Aug. 27 news release from the county.

“By moving the containers to a city-owned lot, officials hope to reduce dumping, provide easier monitoring, and ensure that the program can continue in a way that benefits the whole community,” according to the release.

The recycling station on Fourth Street in Dixon is “abused all the time” and has become a “nuisance” with people repeatedly throwing “trash, couches, windows and mattresses” in and around the recycling containers. It’s gotten to the point where “you can’t even recycle” there, Lee County Administrator Jeremy Englund said in an interview with Shaw Local.

The county pays for the recycling service and it’s program “is designed to serve the public good, but when a site becomes a dumping ground, it undermines the entire effort,” Englund said.

“I want to reassure residents that our hope is to have the recycling containers continue to be available in Dixon,” County Board Chairman Bob Olson said in the release.

“By working with the city, we can make” the program “more effective and sustainable for the long term,” Olson said.

The new recycling location “will give us better oversight and help maintain the integrity and cleanliness of the program,” Englund said.