The city of Sherman saw modest growth in its recycling program in its first year as a voluntary program. In late 2018, the city had briefly voted to reduce its program to only accept cardboard and newspapers. These restrictions were reduced a month later when the city moved to allow the recycling of aluminum, tin and steel cans and certain types of plastics. This change also made the program opt-in for residents.
“We feel we are fortunate in Sherman that the City Council stepped up and found a way to make the program continue so that we can continue to offer the service to the people that really value it,” Sherman Community and Support Services Manager Nate Strauch said.
With the changes to the program, Sherman residents had to opt in and dedicate one of their two waste receptacles to recyclable items. In late March, city officials estimated that about 2,500 of the nearly 12,000 solid waste customers had opted into the program, and an additional 240 joined throughout the rest of the year.
Strauch said that while the program represented new waters for the city, these numbers followed what city officials expected. The program saw an initial large number of customers join with slower, gradual growth following.
In late 2018 there were several factors that led the city to reevaluate the program. At the time there was a noted misuse of the program as many customers would simply use the recycling bin as a second trash can, resulting in a slow down in processing.
“A lot of people were happy to have a second trash can,” Sherman Director of Finance Mary Lawrence said in 2018, regarding the November change. “A lot of people were also disappointed to see recycling efforts diminished. … It is mixed, a little of both.”