ATHENS, Tenn. — A plastic collection program begun last February by the city of Athens has been put on hold due to low petroleum prices and a lack of demand for plastic consumer goods.

Public Works Director Shawn Lindsey said once demand increases for post-consumer plastics, the city will restart the program. He said the selling price for recycled plastic dropped from 35 cents per pound to 5 cents.

“We can’t find anyone who will take them,” Mr. Lindsey said of the plastics formerly collected at the city’s recycling center.

He said lower oil prices affect the collection process, but the economy also has had an affect. The plastic material the city collects is at the bottom of the chain for reuse in factories, he said. Most buyers prefer cleaner materials, and when the prices drop, manufacturers prefer virgin materials, he said.

When the city first started, plastics collections were 460 pounds, he said. As the program spread, collections grew to more than 4,000 pounds per month.

Mr. Lindsey said the city will continue accepting other items for recycling such as newsprint, cardboard, aluminum cans, paper, tin and steel cans, cooking and motor oil and automotive batteries.

Published reports state that prices for all kinds of recyclables have dropped because the slow economy has reduced markets for such products.

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