The program includes installation of 57 containers for recycling in parks and other city properties, three new picnic tables made of recycled content that will be placed in the dog park at Creager Field (Irving Avenue at Shafor Boulevard), and 588 wheeled refuse containers, made with 40 percent recycled materials, that have been provided for city residents who live adjacent to alleys.
Public Works Director Kevin Weaver said the smooth transition to the 96-gallon wheeled containers, or “toters,” has been “a pleasant surprise. They’ve been very well received and have made a big difference in the appearance of the alleys.”
Residents who do not live near alleys are limited to three standard 35-gallon trash cans in weekly pickup. There is no limit for recycling containers.
Most Oakwood property owners participate in the city’s comprehensive recycling program, but officials believe a significant quantity of recyclable material still finds its way into the landfill.
One resident who placed regular trash in the toter, but then also piled recyclables on top of the other refuse last week “will be getting a letter about that,” Weaver said.
The goal with the new receptacles for recyclables in parks “is to have one every place you see a regular trash can.”
Residents accustomed to transporting larger accumulations of cardboard to the yellow dumpsters adjacent to the dog park will now encounter two others that are blue.
One of the new dumpsters is for yard debris. The other is for commingled recyclables, Weaver said.
As part of cost-cutting efforts, the city reduced residential pickup of yard debris to once a month earlier in the year.
“The dumpster will allow our citizens to just drop it off and be done with that, instead of having to keep it in their yard until pickup,” Weaver said.
“We recycle about 50 tons per month. Including special pickups, we process about 300 tons of refuse a month. We don’t have a solid estimate of how the programs will impact the numbers. But it costs the city $30 a ton less to recycle in direct costs.”
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