[Durham INC] Durham's Curbside Recycling Program Launches Today

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

For Details, Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov <mailto:Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov> 

 

For Immediate Release:  July 13, 2009

 

 

Durham's New Curbside Recycling Program Launches Today

New "Blue Zone" Collection Begins This Week; Some Households in New "Red
Zone" Still Receiving Carts Before Next Week's Collection Begins

 

DURHAM, N.C. -The City of Durham's new curbside recycling program began
today with Durham residents using their new 95-gallon blue roll-out
carts for bi-weekly collection.

 

This week begins the bi-weekly collection for the new "blue zone"
customers.  Households in the "blue zone" have already received their
new roll-out cart and collection schedule and should begin using their
new cart this week on their current collection day.  

 

According to Donald Long, director of the City's Department of Solid
Waste Management, a few streets in the "blue zone" areas received carts
without a recycling collection schedule attached in a plastic bag,
explaining the new program in more detail. "If carts are received
without an attachment, residents are urged to contact Durham One Call at
(919) 560-1200 to report the missing schedule and learn whether they are
a "blue zone" or "red zone" customer.  Once we know which households did
not receive a collection schedule with their new cart, our crews will
then deliver a schedule to that home."  

 

Residents can also visit the City's Web site at 
www.durhamnc.gov/departments/solid/pdf/recycling_map.pdf to determine
whether they are a "blue zone" or "red zone" customer based on their
street address within the city.  Once that has been determined, a
collection schedule for the entire year can then be downloaded at 
www.durhamnc.gov/departments/solid/pdf/blue_schedule052909.pdf for "blue
zone" customers or 
www.durhamnc.gov/departments/solid/pdf/red_schedule052909.pdf for "red
zone" customers.

 

Beginning next week collection will start for "red zone" customers, some
of whom are still receiving their new roll-out carts this week.
According to Long, all carts will be delivered to all "red zone"
customers by the end of this week in time for their bi-weekly collection
to begin the week of Monday, July 20.  

 

Long also clarified that, at this time, only residents who live in
townhomes, condominiums, or are listed on the "exempt" list have the
option of requesting 35- and 65-gallon containers if the 95-gallon
container is too big for their needs.  "We are only offering the smaller
recycling carts to these residents at this time," Long said.  "We will
in the future offer smaller carts to residents that live in
single-family homes.  But for now, our top priority is to provide
residents that live in townhomes or are on our 'exempt' list with the
option to request a smaller recycling cart."  Exempt customers include
residents who are physically disabled and have an Exempt Collection
Request Form signed by their physician on file with the City's
Department of Solid Waste Management.  Long also emphasized that only
recycling should be placed in the new recycling carts and it was not to
be used for household garbage overflow.

 

According to Long, while the initial change to the new curbside
recycling program may come with some minor hiccups as residents get used
to the new schedule, the overall benefit of moving to the new program is
worth it.  "As with any launch of a program that affects every single
household in the city limits, there are a few problems are to be
expected.  Our staff is working very hard to ensure that all households
have their carts prior to their new pick-up schedule and that all
households have a copy of their respective collection schedule," Long
said.  "We truly feel that once we get through the first couple of weeks
of adjusting to this new program, our citizens are going to recycle
more, while at the same time enjoy the convenience of using a larger
cart they can easily roll to their curb.  At the end of the day, this is
saving the City a significant amount of money as well.  It's truly a
win-win situation for all."

 

Residents that live in the neighborhoods that pilot-tested the new
recycling program earlier this year will have their TFC recycling carts
removed beginning this week.  The TFC carts should be at their curb for
removal the same day they received their collection as part of the pilot
program.  The neighborhoods that will receive cart removal beginning
this week are Grove Park, Eagle View/Point, Country Club, Stone Hill,
and Landon, Fiske, and Fidelity Streets in Wellons Village. The pilot
neighborhoods that will receive cart removal next week are Wellington,
Garrett Farms, Dover Ridge, and Old Farms.

 

The new curbside recycling program isn't the only change occurring this
week.  The bulky item collection program is now provided on a weekly
basis.  Citizens should place up to three bulky items at their curb the
same day as their garbage collection.  As crews pick up the weekly
garbage collection in the green roll-out carts, they'll note the bulky
items set on the curb and crews will return the next day to collect
them.  

 

Yard waste collection customers will also need to take note of a new
collection schedule beginning today.  The brown roll-out carts should
still be placed at the curb the same day as the weekly garbage
collection in the green roll-out carts.  However, the yard waste carts
will not be serviced until the next day, streamlining the collection
into a Tuesday through Friday operation.  

 

The final service change going into effect this week is that Friday
garbage, recycling, and yard waste customers should now set their carts
out on Wednesday.  

 

To learn more about any of these changes, visit the City's Web site at 
www.durhamnc.gov/departments/solid/recycle_curb_collection.cfm or
contact Durham One Call at (919) 560-1200.

 

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