Solid Waste and Recycling Services

SOLID WASTE SERVICES—ENTERPRISE FUND—7/1/08

I am happy to report that our new Commissioner of Public Works has reorganized crews and routes to be able to collect recyclables, yard trimmings, and garbage weekly instead of the proposed every other week collection of recycling and yard trimmings.

Beginning the week of July 7, city crews will collect all three items weekly.

RECYCLABLES---Department of Public Works (DPW) will save $3 million in the ’09 Solid Waste budget by taking over the recycling collection contract. This contract for collection has had spotty implementation. Many streets have been missed for collection and many of the small black recycling bins have been lost or broken. The percentage of recycling (and diversion of valuable recyclables from landfills) is abysmal in the City of Atlanta, where we charge customers $30.00 per year for the service. Beginning the week of July 7th, the City encourages customers to take advantage of the collection service and put recyclables on the curb either in your small black recycle bin or in any larger bin you have with a top (to keep items dry), and label RECLYCLE on the bin. Remember the City does not require separation of materials and collects:

• newspapers
• magazines
• phonebooks
• paperbacks
• junk mail
• chip board (such as cereal box, Kleenex box)
• corrugated cardboard (flattened) (NEW item to be collected!)
• aluminum and steel cans
• glass
• plastic

We hope to be able to greatly increase the percentage of recycling in Atlanta and divert these items from landfills (decreasing our tipping fees) AND increase revenue by selling the recyclables. Please participate. The City may soon sell larger bins for recycling.

YARD TRIMMINGS---DPW will continue the free collection of yard trimmings weekly. I was alarmed to discover during this year’s budget research that we pay an outside entity $18-$19 per ton to take this material and process it, so I am searching for an enterprise that would take the material for free. That could save $800,000 per year.

GARBAGE will be collected weekly as usual.

I am still encouraging DPW to investigate the advantages of “Pay As You Throw” (PAYT) systems which encourage more recycling. With increased recycling, the existing large green garbage bin should be more than adequate for the majority of households.

Let’s help make revenue for Solid Waste Enterprise Fund and keep our city cleaner!!

CLAIR MULLER