Danville’s Public Works Department will not be implementing a household recycling program anytime soon.
Director Carl Carpenter said in response to a comment from a resident during Tuesday night’s public works committee meeting that the program would not be practical due to the fact that price for recycled materials such as cardboard and plastic has dropped in recent years. He says it would cost the city $40,000 per year to run such a program.
“Until they come up with a better system, which in my opinion would be (that) all recyclables are used for energy in some source, the City of Danville cannot afford to go house to house and collect for recyclables,” he explained.
Committee Chairman Mike Puhr noted that Vermilion County previously ran a similar program in partnership with Keep Vermilion County Beautiful, which was largely funded based on grants. When the funding dried up, then the program was then discontinued.
Carpenter also said that city council members surveyed residents a few years ago about starting a recycling program. Puhr said that only about 20 percent of residents said they were willing to pay the extra cost of recycling. Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. noted that organizers of the previous program had a problem with people dumping their trash at the recycling site.
“In theory, I agree with recycling, but we have to figure out a way to make it practically affordable to folks,” he said.
Committee members did approve the purchase of 500 large, 95-gallon household waste containers for use in the city’s residential program. Carpenter says the amount is in line with other stock that he purchased in the past two years. The cost of the purchase is $26,785, or about $50 per container.
