Columbia’s solid waste department is looking for ways to make recycling more convenient and consistent for apartment residents. Ben Kreitner, waste minimization coordinator, said more containers for apartment complexes, more trucks and educational efforts could help increase recyclable trash coming from apartment residents. “If we can say the container will always be at this location, seven days a week, right there, you can recycle, that will really help out with the convenience of recycling.”
To place a recycling container at an apartment complex seven days a week, the Columbia City Council would need to approve changing current city codes that classify apartment complexes as commercial recycling customers to instead categorize apartments as residential customers. Commercial properties are not required to offer recycling. Purchasing more bins or trucks also would require the council’s approval.
Fourteen collection bins are shared between 42 apartment complexes, with each bin being shared between three complexes, spending a couple of days at each location.
Apartments that participate in the program recycled just more than 122 tons in 2015. The weight in recyclable materials that come from apartments has decreased since 2010, when the city picked up just more than 200 tons.
Kreitner said he believes having a permanent bin at each apartment complex could aid in making recycling more convenient for those residents. But Laura Eggeman, resident and co-owner of Dalclifton apartments, said she prefers having the bin rotate between complexes. She said she and her husband often have to clean up the ground around the bins, especially when the bins are full. “We’re constantly picking up stuff,” Eggeman said. “I don’t know that I would want one all the time.”
Eggeman said she’s noticed more problems in the past few years with recycling bins getting dropped off late or not at all or getting dropped off already full of recyclables. She said she would like to see the city invest in more trucks to ensure the bin rotates to its next complex on time and empty rather than full of material from the previous apartment complex. “When it works properly, it’s great. Everybody here likes it and it’s convenient,” she said.
Kreitner said aging collection vehicles can be unreliable and require a lot of maintenance, sometimes causing the city to pick a bin up late. Waste management employees decide if the bin they pick up needs to be emptied before moving it to the next set of apartments.
To read the full story, visit http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/local/city-looks-to-make-recycling-more-convenient-for-apartment-residents/article_50ad9454-aa04-5d40-89f8-a5cfb3d8f1a0.html.