In July, curbside recycling in Vineyard Haven went from free to $125 a year. Within a couple weeks, the local drop-off — where recycling is still free with a sticker — was inundated with plastic and glass, so much that people had to be turned away.

“Someone came down to complain that people were throwing away recycling,” department of public works director Ray Tattersall said.

Landfill attendants told customers to return another day if the bins were full, instead of just tossing their recycling in with the trash. The DPW also scheduled an additional weekly pick-up for the glass and plastic bins.

Sitting atop a capped landfill, the local drop-off has two 10-yard bins for glass and plastic, one bin for corrugated cardboard and one bin for paper (newspaper, magazines and catalogs only).

Landfill attendant Brian Gibson sits inside a small shack at the entrance, checking for stickers and helping customers. Since July, Mr. Gibson said it feels as if the number of people using the drop-off has tripled.

Even with the additional weekly pick-up, Mr. Gibson said the bins fill up and customers get frustrated about the limited types of recycling the drop-off takes. The facility does not accept computer paper or thin cardboard like cereal boxes for recycling, both of which were accepted through curbside recycling. Recycling also must be separated, while curbside recycling could be commingled.

While the bins for plastic and glass are now emptied three times a week, the cardboard and paper bins are emptied weekly or as-needed, Mr. Tattersall said.

Since July 1, the DPW has sold 523 local drop-off stickers, approximately a third of which were sold to seniors, Mr. Tattersall said. Last year, they sold 237 stickers and gave 204 free stickers to seniors. This year, seniors are charged for a reduced-rate sticker.

Mr. Tattersall said anecdotally that many people buying stickers have said this is their first time using the local drop-off after years of using curbside recycling.

“Even my neighbor,” he said. “She came right here to get a sticker.”

Meanwhile, officials have a close eye on what the increase in recycling at the local drop-off will mean for the town. Recycling is no longer profitable, which is the main reason Bruno’s charges for curbside recycling now, and Mr. Tattersall isn’t sure how much the increase in recycling will cost the town.

“Do I want us to charge for recycling? No,” he said. “But I can’t say it will never happen.”