Interim Director meets with Steubenville Councilmen
Interim Director meets with Steubenville pride Committee
Thursday, August 13, 2009
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STEUBENVILLE - Four city councilmen explored ideas and thoughts about neighborhood recycling Thursday with a representative of the Jefferson-Belmont Regional Solid Waste Authority and learned there are financial incentives for community recycling.
"We are not talking about bringing back curbside recycling. But we are hoping to see more recycling stations in our two hilltop neighborhoods as well as the downtown area. We believe we can work with the Hilltop Community Development Corp. to encourage residents to recycle more and send less material to the landfill," explained 3rd Ward Councilman Greg Metcalf.
Metcalf said city officials already know about existing recycling stations in the city but are hoping for more sites and an educational awareness program that will encourage neighborhood recycling to grow.
"If we can reduce our refuse waste going to the landfill by 10 to 15 percent and recycle more material, that is a savings for our taxpayers. We would like to add three or four smaller recycling stations on the hilltops," noted Metcalf.
According to 1st Ward Councilman Gerald DiLoreto, a pilot recycling program would be welcomed in the Pleasant Heights neighborhood.
"People living on Pleasant Heights would be happy to volunteer. I would really like to see increased recycling in at least that neighborhood," added DiLoreto.
"Our operating plan encourages economic benefits for communities with recycling programs. The Authority will reimburse communities up to $100 a ton for what is recycled," responded Tom Bottorf.
But Bottorf told the councilmen that while he is willing to continue dialog on recycling, he is waiting until a full-time executive director is hired at the solid waste authority.
"I believe the Authority would be more than willing to look at adding recycling sites in the city once a new executive director is hired and on the job. But while recycling is still one of our main goals, we have also seen the market drop on most materials," explained Bottorf.
"At this point the only recyclable material that pays money back is paper. We are actually paying to recycle plastic, metal and glass. But we committed to recycling early on and we are continuing our efforts. But there is a cost to recycling material," said Bottorf.
"We are currently exploring ways to reduce our recycling costs. Our recycling program has grown so fast we are now having a hard time keeping up. Our drivers actually work overtime just to stay even," commented Bottorf.
"We do have an excellent educational recycling program at our schools. And we plan to be at the Jefferson and Belmont county fairs encouraging recycling. Plus we are also focusing on reuse in addition to recycling. Grass clippings placed for curbside waste pickup are a major issue for many communities. But we are encouraging people and communities to consider composting grass clippings instead of sending the material to the area landfills," Bottorf noted.
(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)
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