New Refuse and Recycling Program: What You Need To Know
Oct 3, 2008 15:38 - 3 Comments
Rockville’s long-awaited once-per-week >Refuse and Recycling Program is fina
lly starting. If you are in Phase I, you should have already received a notice in the mail and an invitation to attend a Recycling/Refuse Informational Meeting. Phase I will start on either October 27th or 29th, 2008 depending on whether your pickup is Monday or Wednesday. A new color-coded Guide has been printed to help us learn the new system.
If you want to know when you will switch to the new schedule, you can go to the City’s Refuse and Recycling website and type in your address. Your home will pop up on a map along with other information such as your Voting Precinct, Neighborhood Resource Coordinator, and neighborhood association.
Even though I thoug
ht I understood the expanded recycling and refuse program changes, last Saturday’s presentation at City Hall taught me a thing or two. The firsthand look at the new trucks, wheeled carts, and expanded recycling items was useful, so don’t miss it when it’s your turn. I took the kids along and the visuals helped them to understand the new requirements too. “Juice boxes go in recycling!” they exclaimed after seeing the board. The whole family needs to know what to do.
The big decision you must make is the size of each of your carts either 96, 64, 48, or 32 gallons. You must pick both a brown recycling cart an
d a gray refuse cart. They’ll have lots of advice on which to choose. Even after you start using the cart, if you decide it is not the correct size, you can always switch.
With all the things that can now go in recycling, you may need to pick a bigger brown cart. We all have to carefully consider every item before placing it in the trash. Craig Simoneau, Director of Public Works, professes that our old garbage can has become “The Cart of Last Resort”. In our house, we’ve had to get used to having a plastic bag for all the plastic bags and wrappings. Remember to tie the top because loose bags will gum up the machines. I still find myself at the garbage can then remember that I need to recycle certain items, so review the list.
The absolute best part of the new recycling program is that you don’t have to sort anything. Just throw everythi
ng in the cart! Old hard and soft cover books can even be recycled if they aren’t good enough to donate to the library. Pizza boxes can go in even if they have that usual grease stain (however if the box is completely stained you should put in in refuse instead). You don’t need to worry about the numbers on any plastic items anymore. You can even keep the lids or screw tops on the bottles/jars because they will be crushed before they ever make it to the recycling plant. All the paper wrappings from your takeout can go in the cart too, as well as those healthy yogurt containers. If your aerosol can is empty throw it in. If you shred documents, put the shreds in a brown paper bag and roll it up before putting it in the cart.
Some plastic items cannot be recycled. A chemical in the plastic of “clam-shell” containers used for strawberries/blueberries and prepared chicken cannot be recycled and
there is no market for this plastic. No automotive fluid or pesticide bottles, PVC piping, vinyl siding, Styrofoam, or water hoses can be put in recycling. These and other items still need to be put in the regular trash.
What about our old garbage cans and blue bins? Both can be recycled if you don’t have any other use for them. You’ll need to put a big sign on them that says “Recycle” As a matter of fact, if anything doesn’t fit in a cart then mark it “Recycle” especially if it is a large toy. One idea for the old garbage cans is to use them for yard waste.
Once we are all on the new system, Christmas trees will not be picked up during special weeks. Two new trucks will take trees (2ft. – 8
ft. tall) and large limbs every week of the year. We don’t have to bundle twigs and branches anymore either, just pile them up as high as you would like at the curb. Since the new trucks have a large arm, please consider where you place the pile so that the arm will be clear of any overhead branches or wires.
You’ll have to wheel the carts out to your curb or alleyway once-per-week with the bar for the truck facing the street and the wheels touching the curb. If you are physically unable to take your carts to the curb, you can apply for the free “Backdoor Service” by filling out a form. Also, certain townhome communities will receive an exemption from the carts.
Personally, I can’t wait to get my new carts!
If you are in Phase I, the last opportunity to attend a Public Works session to pick your cart size is this Saturday, October 4th at the F. Scott Fizgerald Theatre from 9 AM – 1 PM.
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Recycling programs are the best way to help our environment by putting less into landfills, and decreasing the demand for new raw materials.
Is there a list of the townhome communities that are being excluded from this? When I put in my address, I get a “To Be Announced” in all fields related to the new refuse/recycling program. Does that mean I’m in one of the excluded communities?
In response to Dustin’s question, the “To Be Announced” response merely means that your household is not in Phase I and the phase you will be in has not been determined yet.>
Those who have been identified as exception homes, will receive a letter just prior to the beginning of your phase. Being an exception home means that your household will not use wheeled carts becasue there are conditions that will make it difficult to get wheeled carts to the curb. Instead, trash bags or owner supplied 32-gal trash can and blue recycling bins will be used. All other new program changes will still apply. Households identified as exceptions can still “opt in” to use the carts if they feel they can safely get the carts to the curb.
We are waiting to announce future phases until after we are a few weeks into phase I to ensure everything is running well. This will provide feedback that we will use in future phases.
Craig Simoneau
Director of Public Works