Clarification: The hours to drop off compostables at the Hastings facility on West State Road ends at 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Originally announced as 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., it was decided to stop entry at 3 p.m. to have all drop offs complete, trucks gone and gates locked at 3:30 p.m.

Original story:The City of Hastings maintains a compostable material drop off site on West State Road for its citizens to use, but because of the “unbelievable amount” of compostable and especially non-compostable material being dropped off, the city council by consensus Monday agreed to limit hours the facility is open to the public.

“With the volume and type of material, we need more control,” City Manager Jeff Mansfield said, setting the hours from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. “We realize it will be inconvenient for some…it’s less than ideal...the workers won’t be there all the time, but we have to do something, particularly about  the non-compostables. I strongly suspect some of it is not coming from city residents, especially after hours,” he said.

Councilwoman Brenda McNabb-Stange suggested keeping the area open in the evening once a week or once  month,. “We need to try different things.”

“We should try this,” said Councilman Don Smith. “Guys will be going in and out. It’s a good idea.”

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Mansfield said.