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Garner amps up recycling with bigger bins

By Paul Tambasco
News Editor

Every other Thursday evening, long-time Garner residents Jackie Osegueda and her husband assemble any empty gallons of green tea and milk as well as other recyclables into a large trash bag and tote them down the driveway to be picked up the next morning.

Osegueda, 69, says the bags work better than the small, town-issued recycling bin she has, which often goes unused.

“It won’t hold all of our recyclables. There are just too many to fit into it,” she said.

In the two weeks between pickups, Osegueda’s household of five generates more cans, bottles and reusable waste than the 18-gallon container can hold, she said. Rather than throw away what’s left, she bags the excess.

Starting this fall, though, Osegueda can nix the bags because the town will be issuing larger recycling containers to households that receive trash service. In all, the town will buy 8,750 new carts, totaling $391,000.

Officials are hoping that the bigger, 65-gallon bins will make it easier for folks to recycle, lessening what ends up in the landfill. In 2007-2008 Garner handled 908 tons of recyclables compared to 7,205 tons of total garbage.

‘Path of least resistance’?

A few years ago, Wake Forest made a similar switch to big carts and saw a dramatic increase in recycling, said Paul Cox, public works director for Garner. In three years Wake Forest nearly doubled the monthly amount of recyclables collected per household. Likewise, overall trash tonnage decreased by 11 percent.

Garner expects a similar result, Cox said.

“People being people, they typically choose the path of least resistance,” Cox said.

The new recycling carts will resemble the slightly larger carts now used for collecting trash. On wheels, the containers will help some who struggle to maneuver the bins to the curb.

Most residents see the push to reuse as part of keeping the town clean. The lid on the cart will keep bottles and cartons from falling out after a storm, according to William J. Williams, 73, who lives along Purvis Street in North Garner.

“It’s important that the town helps people find ways to cut down on the trash lying around,” he said.

Problems with bigger recycling bins

But not everyone thinks bigger is better. Some residents in townhomes say they do not have enough space in front of their homes to store bigger bins.

Long-time resident Polly Lawrence lives in Georgetown along Aversboro Road. With neighbors on both sides, she places her receptacles in a small space adjacent to the parking spots near her front door.

The added clutter will also be an eyesore, she said.

“These are ugly enough,” Lawrence said.

Cynthia Child, who lives in a condominium in Grand Pointe off Timber Drive, agrees.

“I can understand wanting to recycle more, but with condos and townhomes there is just not enough room for another container,” Child said.

Williams suggests that folks with limited space either keep the carts inside or bring them around the back of their homes.

“That would help with them being unsightly,” Williams said.

Cox acknowledged that townhouses and condos with public trash service present a logistical challenge but believes they don’t detract from the overall effort.

“Those are things we’ll have to work through,” he said. “It’s not a tremendous problem because we don’t have a lot of them around town.”

The value of recycling

The bins will begin arriving to homes this fall, Cox said. In the meantime, some feel the town should dedicate resources to educating citizens about the value of recycling.

“This is a throw-away society,” said 82-year-old Lillie Anderson, whose daughter carries out her bin every other week.

“People have got to want to recycle first. Until you change their minds, you’re not going to change their behavior.”

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