Bengal News reporters
Throughout the past few years, the West Side has undergone numerous changes to help improve the community.
From Extreme Make Over: Home Edition’s visit last fall, to the influx of new, youthful businesses, to the growing presence of grassroots organizations like PUSH Buffalo and the Massachusetts Avenue Project, the West Side is enriching the community one step at a time.
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| Larger recycle bins are expected to eliminate clutter on the street |
The City of Buffalo is about to enter a new agreement with Allied Waste, which will change the scheduled pickup of recyclables, as well as change the amount and content of what can be recycled, said Paul Sullivan, director of street sanitation.
Paul Sullivan says the city will try to make recycling more convenient:
Some residents may be recycling for the first time, but the new changes will help the city save money and make recycling a little easier, he said.
“If you make bringing your recycling out to the curb as easy as it is to take your garbage out to the curb, people will actually recycle more,” said Kirk Laubenstein, legislative assistant to Councilman David Rivera.
The recycling initiative will offer new, much larger recycling totes that will allow for single stream recycling. This means that residents will now be able to put all of their recyclables, including paper, plastic, glass and aluminum all into the same receptacle. Materials such as pizza boxes and plastic caps from bottles and cans will also be able to be recycled, Sullivan said.
The totes that will be distributed to the residents will be very similar to the bins designated for trash.
As an incentive to recycle, Rivera’s office has put together an annual “recycling challenge” for the last few years. Each year, different neighborhoods and streets throughout the West Side participate. During the challenges, a representative from the Department of Public Works goes to the participating neighborhoods and counts how many recycling bins are out at the curb. Whichever area has the most recycling out, wins the challenge.
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| New bins will be as large as garbage totes |
It is understood that some people don’t want the new containers because many people have limited space to store them, said Sullivan, so with the new program, the city is trying to be as accommodating as possible.
“Most of us have figured out a way to get these things in and out,” said Ellie Dorritie, member of the Cottage District Association. “I have to move my car every time I want to pull the garbage out.”
Residents have been and will be given waivers to opt out of receiving the new bins. If a resident feels the bin they have is sufficient, they are not obligated to get the new container.
Recycling pickup will also be changed from weekly to biweekly.
“We’re going to put as much notification on the tote itself as possible, and then we’re going to advertise like crazy too,” Sullivan said about informing the public about the biweekly pickup. “It’s the right thing to do for the community. It’s the right thing to do for the environment,” Sullivan said.
Although Buffalo hasn’t had the best track record when it comes to recycling, Sullivan said, this new initiative to the public works program hope to steer residents in the right direction, improve recycling, and improve the city.
Edited by Patrick Martin and Cierra Richardson
A good way to get in the habit of recycling is to start at a young age. That is exactly what Buffalo Public Schools have decided to do by joining a program called “The Paper Retriever.”
ReplyDelete“The Paper Retriever” is a large recycling bin designated for paper only at the schools. Students can collect paper from each classroom and then take it out to the larger bin for pick-up.
Instead of the school districts paying for waste pick-up, the schools get paid to recycle. For every one ton of paper picked up, that school will receive $5.00 to $20.00.
Since 2009, Buffalo schools have collected a little over 1,000 tons of paper. The reward was about $5,400 being distributed to the various schools accounts.
Most children like to earn money starting at a very young age. This recycling program is a great way to start kids recycling early on in life. -- Allison Jagow
It is no surprise that the City of Buffalo’s recycling habits are dismal.
ReplyDeleteAnd if people cruise through the streets of Buffalo on any given trash pickup day, they’ll be almost sure to find trash and recycling remnants scattered throughout the streets.
This is not only a big problem in Buffalo, but it is also a major issue throughout the country.
According to environmentgreen.com, of all the plastic in America, only three to five percent is recycled. Much of the rest of the plastic makes its way to land fills and takes anywhere from 200 to 400 years to decompose.
Also, loose trash and recyclables not only pollute the environment, but large objects and loose receptacles can actually cause serious car accidents, as drivers may swerve to avoid hitting them.
The new renovations to Buffalo’s recycling program hopes to change the city’s statistics for the better, and encourage recycling as a whole.