City recycling policy based on location

Volumes of students’ recyclables will be landfill-bound without a little extra effort.

Due to a recent change in Baldwin County’s disposal service contracts, only people living in Baldwin County not covered by City of Milledgeville can drop their solid waste, including recycling, at county-funded centers.

A new $13.50 per month, $162 per year, charge is being imposed on Baldwin County residents outside the city who wish to purchase a recycling card. A card is required to use county-funded solid waste facilities. The majority of students living off campus reside within the city limits, causing them to change their recycling habits.

Roadside recycling pick up is offered for city residents who contact the City of Milledgeville asking for a bin. They will in turn notify Sinclair Disposal, the city’s disposal service, to drop off a bin that they will pick up twice per month, according to GCSU’s environmental science club.

Local landfills weren’t filling their quota so the city was running their budgets in the red. This forced the primary solid waste provider to switch hands.

Attaway Waste Services and Sinclair Disposal competed for the business of the city’s waste disposal but Sinclair won the pitch. Attaway is still claimed as Baldwin County’s provider.

Currently, campus supports recycling, but all efforts are backed strictly by volunteers.

Proposals to implement a $4 student green fee that would fund a recycling program were passed by the GCSU SGA and the University Senate last year, but when brought to the University System of Georgia they were denied. With students hurting from the recession, the university system was “reluctant to issue any new fees,” according to Vice President for Business and Finance Pete Shields.

Many residence halls stopped their recycling programs due to the fees imposed.

Off-campus residents aren’t the only ones running into problems finding the proper place to dispose of their recyclables. West Campus residents have resorted to different recycling options.

“I just take (my recycling) when I head back home,” said sophomore West Campus resident, Britta Gervais.

Residents of Baldwin County outside the city limits can buy a recycling card at the Commissioner’s office on the third floor of the courthouse, located on the corner of West Hancock and Wilkinson streets.

County recycling centers offer receptacles for plastics one and two, aluminum cans, cardboard, glass, and brown and white goods for those with county-purchased cards. Receptacles remain locked without this card.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 11 2009. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry