Fairhope, Alabama
fairhopetimes@att.net
THE RECYCLE RASCAL
At its February meeting, out of the 21 entries from 5th and 6th grade intermediate school art students, the Recycling Committee selected a pelican designed by Isabell Thayer to help promote recycling in the city.
Second place went to Ashanti Rush and third to Grayson Millwood. The mascot will also be incorporated into an anti-litter campaign expected to be formally kicked of on Earth Day in April.
The committee selected the winners by placing colored dots on their 3 preferences; Ben Jernigan, a scout from Troop 47 helped make the selections (see video below).
Prizes provided by local merchants for the winners will be awarded during a ceremony at the pier park on Earth Day.
A silent auction of about 30 lost/unclaimed bicycles will be held at the same time, to raise money for the recycling promotion effort.
Some of the bikes that have been accumulating at the police station may be quite valuable.
T-shirts with the winning rascal designs will also be for sale.
SUB-COMMITTEES APPOINTED
Chairperson Nancy Anderson divided the committee into two groups: one to promote recycling (ie. events, mascot, etc.) led by Anderson herself; the other to study financial aspects of various recycling models the city may want to pursue, led by Anna Miller.
The financial sub-committee is tasked with studying the financial, logistical, and other data to make a recommendation to the city council about what the city service should look like ("the next big step.") -- possibly beginning in 2016.
Experimental or trial routes could begin sooner however, maybe this Fall.
Under consideration:
*Whether to co-mingle items (single stream), separate at the curb (3 stream), or a mixed-model (dual
stream)?
* Buy one or more specialized recycling trucks in 2015 or 16?
* Keep things the same in the coming year, but go to single stream (all mixed in one can) in 2016?
*Conduct a limited, short-term pilot project early next year to measure results?
*Recycle cardboard only, since it is by far the most profitable (85% of profits)
Recycling supervisor Dale Linder said the first step would be to determine how much it costs to run an individual recycling route ("base costs") versus the revenue derived from selling the items collected on the same route.
Linder: "Bring the data to the table ... then decided what the options would be ... ."
"Hopefully, we'll have a baseline to discuss at the next meeting... ."
Elizabeth Tonsmeire, who runs a local real estate business, has volunteered to help crunch the numbers.
She provided a spreadsheet to be used to compare and organize the numbers for the three basic recycling models under consideration.
INCREASING PARTICIPATION REDUCES COSTS
Linder said it currently costs the city about $21,000 a month to dump garbage in the county's landfill ($31/ton) -- and that amount would be reduced if more residents recycled more of their waste instead.
Linder:"Participation is the key ... the more we recycle ... less goes to the landfill ... saves us money ... "
Also, when volume increases -- more material is recycled by residents -- there is greater return to the city, depending on degree of separation.
Preliminary recommendations need to be made by no later than about July, when the mayor and council begin planning next year's budget, according to Linder.
Completing the "comprehensive route study" with a recommendation about what new vehicles to purchase are priorities, according to Linder.
THE RECYCLE RASCAL
Second place went to Ashanti Rush and third to Grayson Millwood. The mascot will also be incorporated into an anti-litter campaign expected to be formally kicked of on Earth Day in April.
The committee selected the winners by placing colored dots on their 3 preferences; Ben Jernigan, a scout from Troop 47 helped make the selections (see video below).
Prizes provided by local merchants for the winners will be awarded during a ceremony at the pier park on Earth Day.
A silent auction of about 30 lost/unclaimed bicycles will be held at the same time, to raise money for the recycling promotion effort.
Some of the bikes that have been accumulating at the police station may be quite valuable.
T-shirts with the winning rascal designs will also be for sale.
SUB-COMMITTEES APPOINTED
Chairperson Nancy Anderson divided the committee into two groups: one to promote recycling (ie. events, mascot, etc.) led by Anderson herself; the other to study financial aspects of various recycling models the city may want to pursue, led by Anna Miller.
The financial sub-committee is tasked with studying the financial, logistical, and other data to make a recommendation to the city council about what the city service should look like ("the next big step.") -- possibly beginning in 2016.
Experimental or trial routes could begin sooner however, maybe this Fall.
Under consideration:
*Whether to co-mingle items (single stream), separate at the curb (3 stream), or a mixed-model (dual
stream)?
* Buy one or more specialized recycling trucks in 2015 or 16?
* Keep things the same in the coming year, but go to single stream (all mixed in one can) in 2016?
*Conduct a limited, short-term pilot project early next year to measure results?
*Recycle cardboard only, since it is by far the most profitable (85% of profits)
Recycling supervisor Dale Linder said the first step would be to determine how much it costs to run an individual recycling route ("base costs") versus the revenue derived from selling the items collected on the same route.
Linder: "Bring the data to the table ... then decided what the options would be ... ."
"Hopefully, we'll have a baseline to discuss at the next meeting... ."Elizabeth Tonsmeire, who runs a local real estate business, has volunteered to help crunch the numbers.
She provided a spreadsheet to be used to compare and organize the numbers for the three basic recycling models under consideration.
INCREASING PARTICIPATION REDUCES COSTS
Linder said it currently costs the city about $21,000 a month to dump garbage in the county's landfill ($31/ton) -- and that amount would be reduced if more residents recycled more of their waste instead.
Linder:"Participation is the key ... the more we recycle ... less goes to the landfill ... saves us money ... "
Also, when volume increases -- more material is recycled by residents -- there is greater return to the city, depending on degree of separation.Preliminary recommendations need to be made by no later than about July, when the mayor and council begin planning next year's budget, according to Linder.
Completing the "comprehensive route study" with a recommendation about what new vehicles to purchase are priorities, according to Linder.
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