10/19/2005
The town of Odessa, with 150 households, was the first midstate municipality to sign up all of its residents for curbside recycling.
Before the service started there in July, about a half dozen households participated individually, said Mayor Kathy Harvey. By the third week of the municipal arrangement, blue bins were appearing outside 70 percent of the town's homes, said Mayor Kathy Harvey.
"We've been overwhelmed by the response," Harvey said. "I'm really proud of our citizens."
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Even the resident "who grumbled and grumbled" about the chore of recycling was seen (and reported by many) placing a bin full of beer bottles at the curb, Harvey said.
Odessa is a small incorporated town that contracts with one trash hauler and bills residents through taxes. Under that arrangement, residents pay about $2 a month for recycling. In New Castle County, individual households pay $6 a month for the curbside recycling, although some get a small discount from their trash haulers if they recycle.
"We pass on a nice savings if we can get entire communities to sign up" for curbside pickup, said Delaware Solid Waste Authority recycling manager Rich Von Stetten.
Odessa residents pay $183 yearly for trash disposal, which includes the weekly recycling pickup by waste authority trucks. The hauler, Independent Disposal Services, pays the state $2 per customer monthly, resulting in the deep discount for recycling.
"We decided we would cover part of the cost because we're building our business and our reputation," said Bruce Georgov, company president. Independent Disposal Services, based in Townsend, targets small municipalities in Delaware and focuses on residential service. Georgov said his aim was to encourage recycling without requiring the government intervention to make it mandatory.
Other New Castle County municipalities recently have made similar arrangements or have instituted pilot programs.
In Bellefonte, which has about 500 households, only 10 had signed up individually for curbside recycling, said town commissioner Scott MacKenzie.
But after a survey showed high interest in recycling, the town negotiated a new contract in June with Independent Disposal Services and brought hundreds on board. "We got weekly trash service with recycling for less than the previous twice-weekly trash pickup," MacKenzie said. The town phased in the recycling pickup, which began Sept. 6. "We've had very positive feedback," MacKenzie said.
In September, the waste authority expanded curbside pickup availability into all of Kent County. Entire towns or large neighborhoods can get a discount by signing up en masse.
For more information, call (800) 404-7080 or visit www.dswa.com.
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