August 10, 2007
Editorial
After curbside recycling, another mission for Earthkeepers
The curbside recycling effort in the City of St. Marys has come a long way, but it seems that it still has a long way to go.
At this week's Water and Sewer meeting, where issues related to waste and recycling are usually discussed before heading to the City Council for further chewing over, a decision was made to continue seeking bids for the provision of curbside recycling services in the city. Two bids will be sought, one for curbside recycling only and one that will also incorporate curbside trash pickup and curbside yard waste pickup.
The good news is that no matter which option proves to be the smartest one for the city, no city jobs are likely to be lost. If a private contractor is hired to do the curbside recycling only, the city will continue to pick up trash and yard waste as it now does. If a private contractor is hired to pick up all the recycling and waste in the city, it is likely that many city employees would get jobs with the contractor, as they already know the routes and are familiar with the city.
It will be Sept. 24 before the city decides on which bid it will accept, but in the meantime, there are a few more aspects of recycling to think about.
First, since the City of St. Marys and the St. Marys Earthkeepers have done a great deal of leg work on the curbside recycling issue, I hope they will pass on the wisdom and knowledge they have acquired during their due diligence to the other cities in the county. Kingsland also lacks curbside recycling, and as it is the fastest growing city in the county, it needs to get on board now. Having St. Marys share information with Kingsland would be a great gesture of goodwill between the cities and an acknowledgement of all the hard work done by the Earthkeepers.
And finally, for the Earthkeepers, I have a new, larger and more important task for you to direct your considerable energy, commitment and enterprise toward: getting a bottle bill in place for the state of Georgia.
For the unfamiliar, a bottle bill requires that a deposit - ranging from five to 25 cents per bottle - is paid on most beverage containers at the time of retail purchase, especially beer, juice and soft drinks. The deposit is used to support recycling programs and offers a financial incentive for people to recycle and a financial disincentive to litter. We could kill off several nagging problems in Camden County were Georgia to get its act together and pass a bottle bill.
It is still some months before the next session of the Georgia Legislature convenes. Now is the time to begin researching bottle bill legislation and to work with our local State Representative, Cecily Hill, and our local State Senator, Jeff Chapman, to get legislation drafted and have them start looking for co-sponsors.
Georgia could even one-up other bottle bill states and burnish its image as a leader in green thinking by passing legislation that mandates a deposit on every recyclable container, not just beverage containers. This would create an even greater financial incentive to recycle and may push even the very lazy into compliance. It's worth a shot.
(Jonathan Maziarz is the editor of the Tribune & Georgian and a regular Friday columnist.)
