JC students plan to collect recyclables at homes here
Curbside pickup of recyclables has been discussed in Jamestown for years, and later this month a group of students from Jamestown College is going to do something about it.By: Ben Rodgers, The Jamestown Sun
- Image
Curbside pickup of recyclables has been discussed in Jamestown for years, and later this month a group of students from Jamestown College is going to do something about it.
Twenty-nine students in the Character in Leadership class will use servant leadership skills and collect recyclables at about 120 homes once a week for five weeks, said Jacob Niemeier, a sophomore in the class at the college.
Statistics from the month of pickup will then be presented to the City Council, with hopes of a permanent program being established, Niemeier said.
“Through this I think we’re pushing James-town into a new way that’s going to revolutionize the way we think of recycling and our waste,” he said.
The James-town Community Foundation awarded the class a grant of $2,500 which will be used to purchase 120, 18-gallon bins. The money will also be used for educating the community about recycling.
“We’re trying to do a full-blown effort in educating and making the community aware of recycling,” said Kyle Blumenshine, a sophomore in the college class.
To pick up the recyclables each week, Agri-Cover Inc. will reimburse the class for money used to rent pickup trucks to do the job.
The exact homes participating have not been selected but after classes start at the college on March 15, following spring break, students will go door to door looking for participants in four neighborhoods, Niemeier said.
Some residents in the northeast part of town near Polar King and William S. Gussner Elementary School, and the southwest part of town by Hugo’s and Louis L’Amour Elementary School will be asked if they want to participate in the five-week project.
The pickup is scheduled to start the week of March 22, Niemeier said.
“I think recycling is a worthwhile venture,” said Bill Snyder, city sanitation department foreman. “It’s just simply the case of what is it going to cost to pay to do it, and is the community willing to absorb those costs to achieve that goal.”
Some of the costs associated with this potential program if implemented would include the vehicles, the labor and insurance, Snyder said.
Snyder was in charge of the curbside pickup of recyclables for 61,000 homes in Seattle in 1998.
He said the estimate of $4 to $5 a month per household would be an accurate cost for curbside pickup.
Recycling is going to be the future for the U.S. and it is currently moving from bigger cities like Seattle, to smaller ones, Niemeier said.
“We’re trying to plant the seed and jumpstart things a little bit,” Blumenshine said.
Sun reporter Ben Rodgers can be reached at 701-952-8455 or by e-mail at brodgers@jamestownsun.com
Tags: local news, jamestown college, news, recycling
More from around the web
RSS Feeds