Since the City of Wilmington this month began collecting curbside recyclables on an every-other-week basis–versus the weekly schedule of before–the phone at the city’s solid waste division has been chiming.
“It might be taking a bit of getting used to,” said city spokesman Dylan Lee, who noted an uptick in phone calls since the new pickup schedule began, on Jan. 7.
The city has split its recycling customers into two groups–blue and white. “Blue” customers began every-other-week pickup the week of Jan. 7, on the day the city normally collects their trash. Service for “white” customers began the week of Jan. 14.
In some cases, customers who didn’t get the memo wheeled their recycling carts out on the wrong day and later wondered why the city never emptied them. On some streets, the carts sat at the curb all week.
“We’ve gotten more calls and we’re going to try to help clarify it for those few who may have been confused,” said Lee.
Starting Monday, the city will place reminders in customers’ trash cans about the new recycling program.
To learn your home’s schedule for curbside recycling, click this link and enter your address in the space provided. Click here to view a calendar detailing “blue” and “white” pickup days.
The changes do not affect customers’ routine trash collection.
The implementation, meant to save the city about $220,000 annually in manpower costs, coincided with the city’s distribution of larger, blue roll carts that hold significantly more material than the previously used open-top bins.
Since the blue carts hit, the city has reported a marked increase in recycling interest.
“City crews have been working overtime to deliver the large blue carts to customers who signed up since the carts started being delivered in November,” a bulletin from the city’s communications office said last week.
“The number of customers choosing to recycle now totals about 20,000, an increase of almost 20 percent since the city began discussing the new schedule last spring.”
And because of the increased volume the blue carts avail, the amount of material being recycled has also increased, the city said.
The city’s recycling program is voluntary but free to its solid waste customers. To learn more, click here.
Contact Ben Brown at [email protected] or (910) 772-6335. On Twitter: @benbrownmedia
