 NOVEMBER 13, 2009 10:26:00 AM In an effort to keep sustainable living fresh in the public’s mind, the city of Starkville is introducing residents to one new facet of its recycling program every month. The city in October began free curbside recycling pickup, although the program was limited to single-family homes whose residents’ trash is picked up by the Sanitation Department. More than 1,000 residents have signed up for the curbside pickup program so far and Sanitation Department trucks have transported 24.68 tons of recyclable material to Starkville Recycling for sorting and processing. “It’s picking up for sure,” said Joe Bell, operations manager for Starkville Recycling. This month, the city distributed green recycling bags to the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, who handed them out to downtown businesses looking to recycle. As of Thursday, 20 downtown businesses had signed up for the recycling program. The goal for December is to set up recycling bins along Main Street so shoppers can recycle items including cups, cans and bags instead of tossing them in the trash, Ward 3 Alderman and recycling committee member Eric Parker said. Parker hopes the city’s recycling committee and Board of Aldermen continue to introduce new elements of the recycling program regularly. “What we’re trying to do is keep (recycling) fresh in everybody’s mind,” Parker said. “We’re trying to get as many people to sign up for curbside recycling as we can.” Ultimately, Parker hopes the Sanitation Department will collect recyclables from apartment complexes as well as single-family homes. The city already has attempted a “pilot” recycling program at one apartment complex to see how it would work, Parker said, but the recycling committee, Board of Aldermen and Sanitation Department still have to work out additional details before a citywide program is established. “One of our big goals after the first of the year is to work apartments into (the recycling program) because a lot of people who live in apartments want to recycle but they can’t,” Parker said. One of the difficulties in introducing recycling pickup to apartment complexes would be the sorting of the items. Under the single-family home curbside pickup system, residents put all their recyclables in plastic bags, then Sanitation Department trucks pick up the bags and take them to Starkville Recycling for sorting. In apartment complexes, residents potentially could have large recycling bins, in which some people might throw trash and other non-recyclable items, therefore contaminating the load and making sorting much more difficult for crews at Starkville Recycling. “There’s just a lot of details to work out with these apartments,” Parker said. “Hopefully in a couple of months we’ll be able to come up with a program.” The recycling committee also is working on other projects, including one at Overstreet Elementary. The school expressed interest in recycling, Parker said, particularly in the cafeteria area. He hopes a recycling program begins there by early next year. Additionally, Parker hopes to see more recycling drop-off locations spring up around town in the coming months. Next week is National Recycling Week and the GSDP plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Starkville Recycling to celebrate the start of the curbside pickup program. The event begins Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m. Residents will be able to sign up for the curbside pickup program at the reception, get their free bags and take a tour of the facility. “We welcome anybody, any visitors or whomever, to come out and see the facility and take a tour and see what we’re all about,” Bell said. Starkville Recycling is located at 211 C.C. Clark Road. For more information on recycling in Starkville or the ribbon-cutting ceremony, call 662-324-0930. Tim Pratt is the Starkville Bureau Reporter for The Commercial Dispatch.  |
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City recycling program: 25 tons and countingposted Nov 16, 2009 6:22 AM by Green Starkville Admin [ updated Nov 16, 2009 6:29 AM ] |