By Mark Wineka
Salisbury Post
The city of Salisbury reports that 33.4 percent of its households participate in its recycling efforts.
The 33.4 percent participation measured in December is up significantly from 19.3 percent in August 2007, but Public Services Director Tony Cinquemani said the city has gone to a more accurate way of estimating participation than it had used previously.
In a comparison conducted in 2005-2006 by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Salisbury households recycled 274 pounds of material per household compared to the state’s average of 226 pounds.
Allied Waste collects the recycling materials put out weekly in blue bins by Salisburians.
Since April 2007, recycling totals in Salisbury have ranged from 133 tons a month to a high of 141 tons last October.
The city’s efforts at promoting recycling seem to have caught on. Until March 2007, the monthly recycling collections had never exceeded 129 tons.
“Something out there must be working,” Cinquemani said.
Another indicator of increased recycling is the number of additional recycling bins that have gone out.
From July 1, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2007, the city handed out 1,810 new bins.
Of those, 607 were distributed in newly annexed areas, 216 went to new houses and 987 were picked up by homeowners. Many of those, Cinquemani said, may have been Salisbury residents who already were recycling and needed a replacement bin.
A grant from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources provided $4,522 to purchase an extra 500 bins.
The city also has added to the number of places where residents can pick up a recycling bin.
The five locations are City Hall (administration office), 217 S. Main St.; the City Office Building, 132 N. Main St.; Public Services Department, 519 N. Fulton St.; Fleet Management, 519 N. Fulton St.; and the Solid Waste Division, 303 W. Franklin St.
Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@salisburypost.com.