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Sylva officials expected to vote on recycling at tonight’s meeting
By Justin Goble
Sylva leaders are expected to vote on a voluntary curb-side recycling program during their regular meeting tonight (Thursday).
Members of the town’s recycling committee met April 27 to discuss the issue and see how much it would cost to reinstitute the program.
A mandatory recycling program was eliminated in 2003.
The recycling committee’s plan requires participants to have two 18-gallon bins: one for paper, the second for other recyclables. Recyclables would be picked up once a week, along with the garbage pick-up.
According to committee member Stacy Knotts, those wanting to take part in the program will have to buy their bins from the town. She said bins will cost slightly more than $7 each, and the town will sell them to residents at cost. Wheels and lids can be added for an extra charge, she said.
An initial order of 200 bins is required from the company, Knotts said.
Though there was talk of the town providing the bins, committee members decided to pass the charge on to participants because it will be a voluntary program.
“I think the people who want to recycle are more than willing to pay for the bins,” Knotts said.
Public Works Director Dan Schaeffer said his team would be able to do the collection work. The town already has a truck, but he would have to build two recycling bins for it.
The main difficulty Schaeffer saw is finding someone to work solely on recycling, because it would be hard for his men to pick up recycling along with the work they already have.
“This will be a part-time job,” Schaeffer said. “It will be a pain in the neck for me to hire someone for just one day a week who will come with any consistency.”
Another concern about restarting a recycling program in town is the cost. During an April 20 budget work session town Manager Jay Denton said he expected the cost of a recycling program to be around $20,000 per year, and he would fit it into the 2007 budget if board members wanted him to.
However, Knotts said that figure accounts for participation from every resident. Recycling committee members expect a voluntary program to cost less due to lower operational costs. Even so, she said there would be no way to predict the exact start-up costs until they know how many people will sign up for the program.
Committee member Harold Hensley said he thought recycling is a worthwhile program, but he wouldn’t be able to vote in favor of it if the town cannot afford it.
“I think the service is wonderful,” Hensley said. “But the man who’s fixing the budget has to take it from something else. I may be an old fogey, but I don’t think you should buy something unless you can pay for it.”
Knotts said since the program would be voluntary and not everyone is expected to participate, the town should be able to afford it. Her main concern is paying for the first 200 bins up front without a clear idea of how many people will recycle.
“The worst thing that could happen is that we order the bins and no one signs up,” she said. “Then we could sell the bins to another town.”
If the measure passes, recycling should begin around September. Knotts said the sign-up period should last a month and six weeks should be allowed for the bins to arrive.
The Sylva town board’s regular meeting is set for 7 p.m. tonight at municipal hall.
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