Aldermen gave the city's blue-bag program a 7-1 vote of support Tuesday.
But will it be a long-term solution to cutting Franklin's trash or a short-lived eco-friendly experiment?
Residents such as Emily Kinzig, who is willing to buy blue recycling bags for her cardboard, paper and plastics and leave them for once-a-week pickup, will decide. The bags will be available at local grocers and other locations.
"Switching to bags will be a little bit of a change," said Kinzig, 31, who takes her recycling to the free local drop-off sites. "I definitely consider it a hassle to load it all up and drive it somewhere."
Despite a near-unanimous vote Tuesday, questions about the program remain in City Hall.
City officials can't say exactly how much curbside recycling will cost yet, nor do they know how many tons of recycling they can expect to divert from the landfill in Murfreesboro.
Sumrall Recycling Inc., based in Sumrall, Miss., will be taking and sorting Franklin's recyclable products without charging the city.
Cost projections have been about $280,000, which would buy three new trucks to pick up the bags. In turn, Franklin hopes to trim how much it's paying in landfill fees.
Franklin, which pays a $25-a-ton tipping fee to dump its garbage, might save as much as $83,000 annually if residents were to recycle 3,333 tons.
Becky Caldwell, city solid waste director, said she's still getting information on leasing trucks, which might make the program decidedly cheaper for taxpayers. Costs of leasing the trucks will be presented to aldermen before the new budget is set in July.
Alderman Pearl Bransford said she thinks changing the city's recycling habits is a must and education programs in schools and elsewhere can mean the difference for the program's success.
"The status quo's not acceptable," Bransford said.
Recyclers iffy on program
Some avid recyclers say they're skeptical the program will cut the city's trash output, since Franklin's 18,000 garbage customers can already recycle for free at the county's drop-off sites.
"You're not going to generate any measurable amount of additional recyclables by telling people that they can go to Home Depot and buy a blue bag to do something differently than they do now that costs nothing," said Alderman Dana McLendon, who uses four tubs to store his family's recyclables at home.
McLendon cast the lone vote against the program.
While resident Chase Whitaker jokes that his family is "addicted" to recycling and cutting waste, he still dislikes the city's program, citing its cost among other reasons.
"Curbside recycling does not need to be implemented as yet another 'entitlement' service for the folks of the city or county," Whitaker said.
Others, such as Elizabeth Jenkins, 44, pays a private garbage collection service to pick up her recyclables and said she doesn't think residents will remember to buy or use the blue bags.
"The odds of most people remembering to get them is slim," Jenkins said. "In fact, I think it's ridiculous to have a specific bag."
But Alecia Lohaus, 28, from Franklin, said she'll use the bags as well as the county drop-off sites.
"Not only will I save time putting my items in my new household bins, but the local pickup service will definitely allow me to recycle even more items as I will not have to pack them up in my car for bi-weekly drop-offs," Lohaus said.
source:
Serving our neighbors,Debbie G.
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