Downtown pedestrians won’t have to feel so bad about chucking their plastic drink bottles in trash cans anymore.
That is if the city follows through on a plan to install permanent recycling receptacles along some of the more commonly walked strips.
It’s on Wilmington City Council’s agenda for Tuesday.
The City of Wilmington won a $25,000 grant from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources meant for the expansion of waste reduction and recycling programs by local government.
The city proposes to use that money–along with $5,000 in local funds, as required for the grant–to install 19 blue recycling bins “complimenting the existing trash receptacles on Front Street from Market Street to Chestnut Street and on North Third Street from Market Street to Campbell Street,” explained a memo from the city manager’s office.
Right now, there are only two recycling receptacles and 30 trash cans in that area, which the city notes is a tourism core and hosts festivals that can draw massive crowds. The annual Azalea Festival brings 200,000 or more, according to the city.
“According to best practice management, a recycling receptacle should be located adjacent to each trash receptacle, a practice called ‘twinning the bins,'” the city’s narrative said.
The grant application claims that pickup crews collected 105 tons of material from downtown in 2013. The added recycling receptacles would divert about 5.25 tons of recyclable material from that stream, the application said.
State law forbids plastic and aluminum containers from entering landfills. Click here to view that law.
The city council gave officials the go ahead to apply for the grant in February. At the time, they were going for $30,000 to install 30 recycling receptacles.
The 19 the city is pursuing now per the awarded amount would be made of recycled steel and blue to match the color of the city’s curbside recycling program.
Wilmington City Council will consider approving the state grant’s receipt and local matching funds Tuesday.
Approval could mean recycling receptacles installed in or around December.
Council’s meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Wilmington City Hall, 102 N. Third St.
Click here for the full agenda.
Past stories:
Wilmington recycling goes big, blue
Most of city trash customers recycling now
City hopes to add downtown recycling cans
Ben Brown is a news reporter at Port City Daily. Reach him at [email protected] or (910) 772-6335. On Twitter: @benbrownmedia
