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Irregular News for 04.04.06
Avondale, AZ -- The city is developing a program similar to driving school to decrease the amount of garbage that ends up in blue recycling bins.
Residents who get a ticket from Avondale's sanitation department could opt to attend recycling school to lower fines, which could add up to $445 with court fees.
"To some people, it's just another garbage can," said Janet Stewart, head of the city's sanitation and recycling department.
Some residents regularly dump animal waste, diapers and other non-recyclable garbage into the containers, she said. One person even threw a lawn mower into a recycling can.
It's a problem that could start costing the city money and lead to higher sanitation fees.
The city ships tons of material collected from blue bins to a processing plant in Glendale. Because workers at the plant hand-sort the contents, Glendale has the power to fine Avondale when garbage "contaminates" more than 18 percent of the material.
The city has exceeded that limit for two years but hasn't been fined yet, said Avondale sanitation inspector Javier Machuca, who attributed the rise in bad recyclers to the number of out-of-state residents moving here.
"Some people from the East Coast are used to recycling grass and fabric," Machuca said. "But we can't take all of that."
Glendale audits the city's recycling load every three months. The latest audit shows garbage made up 25.5 percent of Avondale's recycling batch in March, down about 9 percent from a December audit.
Although the numbers are improving, city officials want them to go down even more. They hope the recycling school will curb the problem.
Details of the class aren't clear yet, but it could run for about an hour and include a video.
"We're stiffing up on people," Stewart said, "but we also want to make sure people are educated."
source
Avondale, AZ -- The city is developing a program similar to driving school to decrease the amount of garbage that ends up in blue recycling bins.
Residents who get a ticket from Avondale's sanitation department could opt to attend recycling school to lower fines, which could add up to $445 with court fees.
"To some people, it's just another garbage can," said Janet Stewart, head of the city's sanitation and recycling department.
Some residents regularly dump animal waste, diapers and other non-recyclable garbage into the containers, she said. One person even threw a lawn mower into a recycling can.
It's a problem that could start costing the city money and lead to higher sanitation fees.
The city ships tons of material collected from blue bins to a processing plant in Glendale. Because workers at the plant hand-sort the contents, Glendale has the power to fine Avondale when garbage "contaminates" more than 18 percent of the material.
The city has exceeded that limit for two years but hasn't been fined yet, said Avondale sanitation inspector Javier Machuca, who attributed the rise in bad recyclers to the number of out-of-state residents moving here.
"Some people from the East Coast are used to recycling grass and fabric," Machuca said. "But we can't take all of that."
Glendale audits the city's recycling load every three months. The latest audit shows garbage made up 25.5 percent of Avondale's recycling batch in March, down about 9 percent from a December audit.
Although the numbers are improving, city officials want them to go down even more. They hope the recycling school will curb the problem.
Details of the class aren't clear yet, but it could run for about an hour and include a video.
"We're stiffing up on people," Stewart said, "but we also want to make sure people are educated."
source