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Town of Grand Island calls results of new recycling program 'fantastic'

by jmaloni

•Taken from the Aug. 8 Island Dispatch

Sat, Aug 16th 2014 02:30 pm

The Grand Island Town Board has called the results of the first month of use with the new 95-gallon wheeled recycling carts "fantastic."

In a press release to the media this week, the board said the amount of recycling by Grand Islanders in the first month of using the carts that were delivered in May by Republic Services has increased.

Buffalo Division Manager Terry Schweitzer and Municipal Services Manager Terry Grady of Republic Services met recently with the Town Board to review the recycling numbers and the overall program, the statement said. According to the town, when compared to the same time period last year, the Grand Island recycling rate has increased by more than 30 percent. The analysis compared May and June of 2013 to the same months this year. Grand Island's 1,758 tons of municipal solid waste for May and June of 2014 included 273 tons of recycling, compared to last year's total of 1,735 tons, 206 of which were recyclables.

"The increase is expected to continue and will be closely monitored by both Republic Services and the Town Board," the statement said. "In the long run it will reduce the volumes of waste that we incinerate at the Covanta Waste to Energy plant in Niagara Falls. The 95-gallon wheeled recycling cart is designed to make recycling easier and more convenient. The bigger cart is better able to accommodate all of the items that are now recyclable, many of which did not fit into the yellow totes."

Not all residents embraced the new, larger carts, with some writing the Town Board and the Dispatch saying the carts were too large and hard to handle. According to the Town Board press release, "Less than 4 percent of the nearly 7,000 residential homes who receive residential refuse pickup have contacted the town or Republic regarding the new wheeled carts and they will be contacted by Republic in the coming weeks to discuss whatever concerns or questions they may have."

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