Of the estimated 15,000 tons of trash Auburn city residents put in the landfill each year, between 5 and 20 percent is material that could have found new life as milk containers, notebook paper and shampoo bottles.
Sanitation supervisor Michael Talbot said he would love to see more recycling and less trash.
“You really can make a difference,” Talbot said. “We make 84,000 stops weekly. If everyone jumped aboard, they could cut down the waste stream.”
The main reasons people don't recycle are the time it takes to clean the containers and put another bag on the curb for pick up, and people's misconceptions about the city's program, Talbot said.
Often, confusion centers on the fact that the trucks look the same.
“People say, ‘Jeepers, I go through all this trouble to recycle and they just throw it in the same truck with garbage,” Talbot said. “That's just not true.”
During weekday collections, three garbage trucks and one identical yellow truck - used only for recyclables - roam the day's district picking up refuse. Each day, crews tackle three routes. The trio of routes in the five districts they cover each week translates to 84,000 stops each week.
The truck earmarked for recyclable materials then takes its contents to the facility offering the best price at the time.
Crews often go to recycling centers in Ontario County or Liverpool, depending on that month's best deal. Currently, cardboard is raking in the most money.
“Unfortunately, it's still cheaper to buy products from China than to buy U.S. products made from recycled material,” Talbot said.
Auburn started collecting cardboard in 2006, and already has brought in 360 tons since the start of last year.
“We're really encouraged by what the (price of) cardboard is doing,” Talbot said.
Besides curbside collection in the city, people can drive in and dump their recyclable materials in the barn-like recycling building.
People can drive through and stop at one of the six 40-yard long receptacles marked for a particular material.
Long, thin docks run between the large bins, allowing people to fill them from the back to the front.
The cardboard bin can get up to 1.3 tons. Heavier newsprint can cause that box to get as heavy as 15 tons, Talbot said.
Besides encouraging people to take the little time to drag recycling out to the curb along with their garbage cans, he wants people to recycle the right way. The recycling schedules handed out by the city include the proper way to dispose of recyclable goods, trash, unusual waste and yard waste.
Workers leave mixed recycling, such as newspaper and cardboard, hoping people will learn to separate materials.
Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or
jessica.soule@lee.net
“You really can make a difference,” Talbot said. “We make 84,000 stops weekly. If everyone jumped aboard, they could cut down the waste stream.”
The main reasons people don't recycle are the time it takes to clean the containers and put another bag on the curb for pick up, and people's misconceptions about the city's program, Talbot said.
Often, confusion centers on the fact that the trucks look the same.
“People say, ‘Jeepers, I go through all this trouble to recycle and they just throw it in the same truck with garbage,” Talbot said. “That's just not true.”
During weekday collections, three garbage trucks and one identical yellow truck - used only for recyclables - roam the day's district picking up refuse. Each day, crews tackle three routes. The trio of routes in the five districts they cover each week translates to 84,000 stops each week.
The truck earmarked for recyclable materials then takes its contents to the facility offering the best price at the time.
Crews often go to recycling centers in Ontario County or Liverpool, depending on that month's best deal. Currently, cardboard is raking in the most money.
“Unfortunately, it's still cheaper to buy products from China than to buy U.S. products made from recycled material,” Talbot said.
Auburn started collecting cardboard in 2006, and already has brought in 360 tons since the start of last year.
“We're really encouraged by what the (price of) cardboard is doing,” Talbot said.
Besides curbside collection in the city, people can drive in and dump their recyclable materials in the barn-like recycling building.
People can drive through and stop at one of the six 40-yard long receptacles marked for a particular material.
Long, thin docks run between the large bins, allowing people to fill them from the back to the front.
The cardboard bin can get up to 1.3 tons. Heavier newsprint can cause that box to get as heavy as 15 tons, Talbot said.
Besides encouraging people to take the little time to drag recycling out to the curb along with their garbage cans, he wants people to recycle the right way. The recycling schedules handed out by the city include the proper way to dispose of recyclable goods, trash, unusual waste and yard waste.
Workers leave mixed recycling, such as newspaper and cardboard, hoping people will learn to separate materials.
Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or
jessica.soule@lee.net
The Citizens' Say
There are 5 comment(s)
I think wrote on Apr 2, 2007 11:57 AM:
what??? wrote on Apr 2, 2007 11:38 AM:
Weed wrote on Apr 1, 2007 1:04 PM:
fed up wrote on Apr 1, 2007 7:07 AM:
I aint buying the math wrote on Apr 1, 2007 1:43 AM: