Burrillville
Calendar to offer recycling tips
01:00 AM EST on Thursday, December 7, 2006
By Kia Hall Hayes
Journal Staff Writer
BURRILLVILLE — With receipt of a $15,450 grant for an informational calendar, town officials hope to ramp up Burrillville’s recycling rate.
“This is an effort to educate the public,” said recycling coordinator Kevin Cleary of the calendar, which will feature scenic pictures of the town, various fun facts on recycling, and information on the town’s solid-waste and recycling program.
Running from July 2007 to June 2008, the calendars will be distributed to residents in the spring.
Thanks to the grant from the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, this is the second year the town will distribute the calendars. Roughly 4,700 calendars were mailed out last year.
Cleary said the town recycles 23 percent of its solid waste at the Central Landfill — exceeding the state’s 20-percent mandate for cities and towns — but he feels that residents can do better.
Many residents are misinformed about proper solid-waste procedures and leave yard waste and bulk items such as computers and refrigerators on the street for curbside pickup, which is only for residential waste and recycling. Numerous reminders and informational leaflets have not solved the problem, so Cleary is hoping calendars are the key to helping residents stay informed.
More than 40 percent of the everyday trash residents throw away is recyclable, Cleary said.
“I wish I could just get people to pay attention,” he said.
After all, recycling is in everyone’s best interest, said Cleary, who said solid waste costs the town $32 per ton in tipping fees. Recycling, on the other hand, is free.
So the more residents put in the trash can instead of in the recycling bin, the more of the town’s tax dollars wind up, literally, in the dump.
“The more we throw away, the more we spend,” he said.
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