|
October 14, 2008 - In a continuing effort to increase recycling, the City of Springfield Department of Public Works will this week begin issuing fines to owners of households that have City rubbish service but do not participate in recycling. The City has a Mandatory Recycling Ordinance.
DPW will issue the $50 fines only to those households that failed to respond to two earlier warnings from the City. The DPW began issuing warnings Sept. 17th to households that had recyclables commingled in their 95-gallon trash toter but none separated out for curbside pickup on recycling days.
Those homes were monitored two weeks later, on the next recycling day. If recyclable material was again commingled with trash and no recyclables were placed out for curbside pick-up, another warning was issued.
A third check at those households on recycle days beginning Wednesday Oct. 15th will result in a $50 fine if recycling is again not separated out but visible in the trash. In addition to the issuing the fine, DPW will not pick up trash from those homes this week.
The notice that a fine was issued will be left with the trash and the fine will be mailed to the property owner.
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the enforcement policy has been a long time coming and is necessary. Springfield had an 8.3-percent recycling rate last fiscal year, among the lowest rates in the state. The average recycling rate for communities of more than 30,000 people was more than 16 percent.
“Our woefully low recycling rate tells us that not recycling has become a lifestyle for too many of us who live in Springfield. These enforcement measures are aimed at increasing our rate of recycling,” said Sarno. “As a City, we have to increase our recycling rates.”
This summer, the City created its first Waste Reduction Action Plan committee. In August, that committee made a City Council presentation about trash issues facing Springfield over the next decade, which include escalating costs of solid waste disposal. Recycling helps to cut down on those costs because the city is charged a fee for every ton of trash it disposes.
In September, the committee implemented a single stream pilot program in one section of East Forest Park. Recycling has nearly doubled under the program, which allows residents to place all recyclable items - paper products, cans and bottles - in 95-gallon containers instead of having to separate them out into a small blue bins. The pilot program began last month.
Recycling Coordinator Greg Superneau said the state Department of Environmental Protection has funded programming for the next two years in order for the City to address its low recycling rate.
“The Single Stream program has shown some impressive early results. Residents overall are pleased with the larger container and ease of use. We will be tracking those results carefully and reporting them to the WRAP Committee in a few months,” said Superneau.
Recent Press Releases:
| 
