More pick-ups needed to meet recycling demand
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Send to friendIn response to feedback that once a month is not enough, the Sierra Vista City Council seems poised to increase the number of regular recycling pick-ups.
Just what the new schedule will look like is still to be decided. City staff members will analyze various options before presenting the council with a detailed summary in March, with the goal of getting a new system in place to take effect on Oct. 1, Public Works Operations Manager Richard Cayer said in a presentation to the council on Monday. While the council did not emerge from the work session with a consensus on a preferred option, there was agreement that more pick-ups are needed.
In response to the city council’s direction in its strategic plan, staff updated the council with two possible changes in the hope of identifying what to focus on when conducting a detailed analysis.
Cayer explained they could either go to two pick-ups per month on Wednesdays or use a system of “one and one,” which means one refuse pick-up and one recycling pick-up each week.
Mayor Rick Mueller suggested using the one and one system every other week. This would give residents two recycling pick-ups each month while also giving them two weeks with the usual two refuse pick-ups.
“That has been a longtime recommendation of mine, actually,” Council Member Larry Hampton said.
When the city began its curbside recycling program in October 2008, it quickly gained popularity, increasing the number of residents who participated from about 43 percent of city residents to nearly 60 percent, Cayer said.
“During the last year we’ve had a limited number of new customers and we’ve actually had existing customers call to opt-out of the program.”
The customers cited an irregular collection schedule and too few pick-ups as their reasons for canceling, Cayer said.
Many city residents can likely attest to the frustration of packing their blue bins to the limit each month, stressing about remembering the pick-up so they don’t have to wait 30 more days.
“There’s no doubt we need to do twice a month at least,” Mayor Pro Tem Carol Dockter said. She has heard a lot of people describe overflowing recycling bins.
“Most people are telling me that they have less refuse now that they’re doing recycling,” Dockter said.
The one and one system has been piloted on Fort Huachuca ever since the city contracted with Michaels Military Housing to provide recycling and refuse services, Cayer said. Staff will be analyzing the data from this program to help determine the pros and cons of switching to that option.
Council Member Tom Reardon has been hearing the same comments from residents, he said. “They really like the recycling program and it looks like we’re going to be victims of our success. They want more pick-ups.”
Although it will likely take longer to implement, staff is also exploring how to effectively offer recycling services to apartment complexes and small businesses.
Processing center expansion
Adding additional pick-up days would also aid the county in processing Sierra Vista’s recyclables, said Martin Haverty, director of the Cochise County Solid Waste Department.
The city has been able to accept more commodities ever since it stopped processing its own materials in June and handed those duties over the county. As part of that agreement the city donated some of its equipment, which is being used to expand the county’s processing operation at the Sierra Vista Transfer Station.
Going from one bailer to five will enable the county to handle about 400 tons per month, compared to the average of about 115 to 120 tons per month it currently processes, Haverty said. Thanks to donations of equipment from cities like Sierra Vista, Douglas and Las Cruces, N.M., the county has been able to save a lot of capital costs.
While the facility would have normally cost in excess of $1 million, the county only has had to invest about $200,000 and looks to be finished in about two weeks, Haverty said. The project should provide enough capacity to go another 10 to 15 years without doing any significant improvements.
While the expansion project has been under construction the county has been sending the recyclables to Waste Management in Tucson, Haverty said.
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get away from the throw away society and go back to the way of the 50’s
I have been an avid recycler since I moved here in late 2004. I recycle everything: cardboard, plastic 1 and 2, glass, office paper, magazines, newspapers, metal cans, aluminum and even plastic bags, and have to make various trips around the area (Whetstone, Bisbee) because there is no central drop-off point for all recyclable items. I don’t make trips just for the recyclables, though, as I drive to Tucson or Bisbee at least once a month.
I recycle out of the conviction that it not only saves on resources, it also saves on landfill space, even if recycling isn’t always very profitable.
We barely have one large dumpster a month to fill because of the little trash we create. Too bad Waste Management does not give out discounts for those of us who only need monthly trash pick-up.
I hope that as this recycling campaign gains momemtum, more people will understand the benefits of recycling, and the city will finally wake up to the trash needs of its residents. For now, the city’s efforts have been more lip service than actual service because once a month pick-up for us would be senseless.
If you go to the landfill anyway, consider cancelling WM and taking your trash at the same time. Doing it that way saves lots of money.
Langer, we’ve been taking our own trash to the landfill for well over a year now. We have our own black dumpster we use for our trash, and when we get enough to take to the landfil, we go there. We average once every three months. Sure beats the current rate of around $70 every quarter for curb-side trash pick-up.
Instead of having trash picked up TWICE a week……
Pick up the trash ONCE a week, and on the "other" day….
PICK UP THE RECYCLING!
Common sense!
While living in San Antonio, they transitioned to the one and one with one refuse and one recycle a week. It really forced people to recycle. It was good, and made the people use the recycle bins or have overflowing refuse can.
Good choice of words; "It really forced people to recycle.." What is disturbing is the fact you think it is good to force people to behave like you. You assume recycling is "good" and throwing garbage away is "bad". Just entertain the possibility that if recycling was such a good idea, my garbage would have some sort of market value. That is why we have homeless digging for aluminum cans. I lived in New Jersey for a few years back in the late 80’s where they "forced" you to recycle (or you were fined). Everybody had to take the time to separate paper from cans. Remove labels from cans and clean them out, etc etc. Then it was discovered that the market price for newsprint declined. The city took huge mountains of separated newspapers and put them in the landfill since there was no market for it. All the forced efforts and all those fines were for nothing real except for some power-trip of a do-gooder in government.
In my opinion twice a month should suffice.
As recycling progresses and everyone is recycling I would think it’ll reverse to once a week for recycle and once a month for refuse. That really sounds like a great goal to accomplish.
We all should be recycling now…
i remember in the 40’s a thing called the war effort. my grand parents would take old tincans socks,pop bottles and a variety of reusable goods to a street corner in fon du lac, wisconsin.
it did not pickups to take the stuff down there. i wonder if a couple roll offs in different locations and let folks take there stuff to them. that would cut down on cost,get rid of the need for pickups.
another option would be to put things that always seem to find there way into refuse center, old clothes, appliances and bycicles and exercise machines. in a resale location and sell them.this practice is used in new hampshire.