Beginning in early July, the city curbside recycling program will begin a partnership with contractor Waste Management (WM). The every-other-week, curbside program will still be collected in 96 gallon carts on wheels. Although the city has changed the company with which they do business, residents should not experience any disruption in their service.
“We look forward to continuing our recycling program with Waste Management,” said Tony Cinquemani, Salisbury public services director. “The company brings years of experience in this line of business, and we anticipate that the transition will be seamless.”
The new green 96-gallon carts which will be delivered during late June or early July will have yellow lids, and will continue to be used for the single stream recycling process.
“Single stream recycling makes recycling easier than ever. This recycling process increases participation because it is a simple system,” said WM Representative Stan Joseph. “All recyclables are collected together so people don’t have to spend time separating. ”
Cinquemani added that single stream recycling has increased participation for the City. “This program has helped us recover much more material that would otherwise have gone to the landfill. This process is good for the city as well as the environment.”
The program does, however, require residents to make sure they only throw clean, recyclable items into their 96-gallon carts. Joseph said just because an item has a recycling symbol on its packaging, does not mean it is always allowed in the curbside program. “Only certain items can be recycled at the curb. There are several reasons for this including market availability and the available method for processing. For instance, plastic grocery bags are not accepted in the curbside recycling program. They damage equipment and can shut down the facility for hours and even days for repair. This doesn’t mean they are not recyclable, it just means they are not allowed in the curbside program.”
Joseph suggested taking plastic grocery bags back to the retailer for proper recycling. He added, there are numerous household items that can still be recycled.
Accepted Items include: Office and school papers, catalogues, brown paper bags, junk mail, glass bottles and jars (brown, clear, green and blue), plastic bottles / containers, magazines and newspapers, aluminum foil and food trays, cans (steel, tin and aluminum), phone books, corrugated cardboard and box and paper board.
Unaccepted items include: broken / sharp glass, food, yard waste, scrap metal, frozen food containers, ceramic materials, hazardous items, non-recyclable plastics, plastic trash bags, cloth / clothing, shredded paper, liquids, loose plastic bags and package wrap or any soiled items.
RECYLE OFTEN RECYCLE RIGHT
As part of a commitment to recycling, Waste Management introduced Recycle Often. Recycle RightSM (RORR). This educational campaign focuses on bringing residents back to the basics of recycling. By increasing the amount of paper, cans, and bottles that go into the recycling cart and decreasing contamination, we can make a huge difference. The website to the program for residents to review and participate is, recycleoftenrecycleright.com.
DO YOUR PART, THRow it in the cart!
Should you have any questions, please contact the City of Salisbury at (704) 638-5256 or Waste Management at (704) 982-1224.