By By MIKE VOSS
Contributing Editor
Washington’s recycling program may change from bins to roll-out carts.
The city may be able to participate in a curbside recycling roll-out cart grant program that would let the switch occur. The grant program could be discussed by the City Council when it meets Monday.
“Staff feels that with the recently mandated recycling requirements and the surge in recycling by our residents as a result, roll-out recycling carts will allow personnel to more effectively collect recyclables,” Allen Lewis, the city’s public-works director, wrote in an Oct. 29 memorandum to the mayor and council. “We have numerous residents that are using multiple recycling bins at this time. Personnel would not have to make multiple trips to and from the curb with carts like they have to do with bins. We have also had requests from residents for roll-out recycling carts.”
The city recently received information about the roll-out cart grant program, according to Lewis’ memorandum. The Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance would administer the grant program through the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund, according to Lewis.
DPPEA is accepting applications from municipalities, counties and solid-waste authorities that want to implement curbside recycling programs using roll-out carts or transitioning existing curbside recycling programs that use bins to programs that use roll-out carts. According to DPPEA, the city would be eligible for up to $100,000 in grant assistance.
“If we decide to participate and are awarded a grant, DPPEA will reimburse the City at a rate of $35 per roll-cart. This represents approximately half of the cost of a 65 gallon roll-out cart,” Lewis wrote in his memorandum. “As a point of reference, the existing roll-out carts used for residential garbage collection are 90-95 gallon in size. While this is not a program that we budgeted for this fiscal year or have funds that we could reallocate to use as a “match” for this grant, with your approval, fund balance could be used. As of this date, the sanitation fund has approximately $136,000 in fund balance with all liabilities considered.”
The grant program is limited to residential/commercial curbside recycling programs.
The council’s agenda also includes, but is not limited to, the following items:
• A discussion about a memorandum on the number of water and sewer customers who use less than the minimum usage they are charged for each month.
• A discussion on sewer improvements along Pennsylvania Avenue.
• A discussion on a sewer study and sewer-rate study.
• Discussion on a commercial recycling fee ($3).
• Comments from the public.
The council meets at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 102 E. Second St.