A member of Summit Hill Borough Council explained on Monday why a playground was used as a temporary storage area for large piles of electronics awaiting recycling.

David Wargo, chairman of the Sanitation Committee of the council, said he consulted with several members of the council and it was agreed storing these items at the Bill Black Playground along West Holland Street was the best solution for a problem that arose during an electronics recycling event held on Jan. 15.

Wargo said the recycling was for borough residents. So successful was the turnout of people that two trucks the firm brought to the borough were filled completely in two hours while many people were still waiting in line to deposit their recyclables.

The only other alternative than storing the overflow would have been to stop the recycling event without taking the items that residents were waiting to unload, Wargo said.

He said the park was chosen for storing the overflow for the following reasons:

• It could be secured.

• It could be observed by residents and the police easily to prevent or discourage dumping.

• It was closed for the winter.

• It was easy to divert residents there with the overflow.

• There was no alternative location available.

“With the majority of council reachable we decided to use the playground to STAGE not dump the recycling,” Wargo said.

He said monitoring occurred to make sure no loose parts were placed with the recyclable items.

The recycling occurred on a Saturday, and the recycling firm was scheduled to come back the following Monday for the overflow. A storm delayed the pickup. Even when the company returned, they needed an additional truck to get all the goods so one more pickup is scheduled this week.

Wargo said, “The park is closed for the winter. As was obvious by the monologues occurring on social platforms, the recycling was carefully watched, as was part of the intention. The remaining recycling will be picked up and everyone was satisfied they could recycle.”

He said, “It’s good to see the concerns for the playground and being that is the case with several opening on the current Recreation Commission, I feel there are many volunteers including those present who have such concerns for our facilities that we should have plenty of volunteers to help us fill those seats.”