Low Recycling Participation Raises City’s ConcernsCurb Recycling is at its ebb in Indianapolis. Lisa Laflin of Department of Public Works reported that only 3 percent participate in curbside recycling with an overall total diversion rate of 11 percent from the incinerator. Laflin said this does not spell out the total picture accurately since items dropped off at sites are not included. These alarming figures caused Mayor Bart Peterson and the Department of Public Works to take notice of this money-losing program and start a series of town hall meetings through out the townships. Approximately 20 people attended the first town hall meeting at Pike Township on January 25. The public had a chance to ask questions as well as give their opinion about the importance of recycling. According DPW Administrator Kevin Sifferlin, the Mayor did not want to make a decision about the fate of the recycling without public input. Sifferlin said the administration has not set any goals about the recycling program. The lack of defined goals and low participation raised concerns from resident Dan Fortune that recycling could very well be dissolved in the city. “Three percent, that is terrible,” he said. Fortune recognized the city is making a push in the community towards recycling. However, he sees the incinerator as the reason most people don’t participate. Fortune concluded that more education is the best solution to increase recycling awareness. According to Environmental Management Consultant Glenn Pratt, the city had no incentive to recycle because of the incinerator. “Indianapolis is behind when it comes to recycling compared to other major cities,” Pratt said. He noted that in the past, the incinerator’s contract required the city to provide a certain amount of tonnage, and recycling would have reduced that waste stream tonnage. Pratt wanted to see the city commit to recycling by starting a mandatory program so it could stop losing money. “However, I would use a smoother word than mandatory to gain a better public acceptance.” He said recycling has to be profitable or these private companies would not be in business. “Abitibi would not be placing green boxes around libraries and schools to collect paper if there was not a profit,” he said. Shawn Brock, DPW Assistant Administrator over contracts, said that is not the case today. Sufficient tonnage would still go to the incinerator even if all the recyclable were pulled from the waste stream. The curbside recycling program is operating more on a piece meal plan. Individuals can sign up by paying a subscription fee. This means the DPW is sending a $150,000 truck down a street for maybe only one or two participants. Kristi Reuille of Georgetown Condominium wanted curbside recycling even if the rest of the units did not want to participate. Reuille was willing to pay the subscription fee to have curb service. It is clear to see that voluntary curbside recycling is a money losing effort for the city. The subscription fee is $5.50 a month for a weekly pickup, but the city’s cost is $8.67 as according to Erika Wheeler of DPW. Terri Bowman of Meridian Kessler Neighborhood Association said her area started recycling sixteen years ago because the residents had concerns about the incinerating all of the garbage. “This involved 6,500 homes participating and we are proud of that,” she said. She too favored a mandatory program. Although most of the people favored curbside recycling, the support dropped when David Forsell of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful asked if the group would be willing to spend $5 or more a month for the service. The show of hands also included participants voting in anticipation of how their neighborhood would react to a fee. Mrs. Max Carpenter did not favor mandatory curb recycling. She preferred to go to one of the city’s 29 drop-sites to recycle because she did not want the plastics, cans, glass, and papers stacking up for days waiting for curbside collection. Ray Wilson of Ray Wilson & Associates said people want to know that their efforts are making a difference. There is social conscious value to recycling of making a difference. He wanted the DPW to provide information as to the whereabouts of these recyclables once collected. Some people chose not to recycle because they believe the recyclables are later tossed in the landfill. Jeff Miller of Earth Day of Indiana said the recyclables are treated as commodities and often times they are stored waiting to find the best price. Indianapolis’s recycling program does not take the high number plastics ranging three through seven, but they can be recycled with Indianapolis Recycled Fiber. He said glass is a low price commodity and can set in warehouses for a while. He also noted that Indiana Recycling Coalition is pushing INDOT to use crushed glass instead of rock aggregate in the roadbeds. One issued raised in the meeting was lack of information to educate people where to go for recycling. People don’t know where to go. Many people are not aware that Marion County Library Branches collect household batteries or that the toxic drop sites are at different locations than the regular drop sites. Side issues also arose. Concerned recyclers wanted to know what efforts the city is making to eliminate old medicines from the waste stream. “Don’t flush them town the toilet because it can enter the water supply if it is bypassed through the system,” Pratt said. This means fish can ingest the medicines, thus entering the food chain. Old pharmaceuticals should be returned to the pharmacy or the prescribing doctor since they have hazardous collection pickups. John Williams of DPW agreed that education and public awareness are essential to develop a successful program. Williams assured the group that no immediate action would be taken. The next step, after several months of town hall meetings, is forwarding the information to a planning committee for review. |
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