Stan Shurden, Starkville Recycling (Dispatch Photo)
June 19, 2009
STARKVILLE — The city of Starkville received word this week it was approved for a $25,000 Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality grant to initiate a curbside recycling program.
City Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Spruill said the funds will be used to purchase bags, in which residents will be able to place their recyclables at the curb.
Spruill had no guess about when the program could begin, as final details still have to be worked out by the city’s recycling committee and Sanitation Department.
They will make recommendations to the city’s Board of Aldermen, who must vote to execute the grant, and on other details of the program, like the type of bags to purchase. The bag purchase also would have to be put out for bid.
“Now that we have the funds, we’ll have to see what we come up with,” Spruill said.
According to a plan passed by aldermen in March, the city’s Sanitation Department will pick up recyclables twice a month from homes already receiving curbside garbage pickup.
At homes where garbage is picked up on Mondays and Thursdays, recyclables will be picked up on the first and third Wednesday of each month. At homes where garbage is picked up on Tuesdays and Fridays, the Sanitation Department will pick up recyclables on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month.
Residents who want to participate have to sign up with the city to receive the special recycling bags from the Sanitation Department. The sign-up process will allow the city to know which addresses will place recyclables at the curb, therefore giving the Sanitation Department a roadmap of locations to target.
After making rounds on the city’s streets, the Sanitation Department will take the recyclables to Stan Shurden at Starkville Recycling, where the company will sort and process the materials.
Because the Sanitation Department will use its existing trucks and personnel to pick up residents’ recyclables, and an MDEQ grant will pay for most — if not all — of the bags, residents won’t have to worry about a tax increase to pay for the program, Ward 3 Alderman P.C. “Mac” McLaurin previously said.
Read complete article from the Commercial Dispatch.
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