News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville’s curbside recycling study was successful.
City crews picked up an average of 25-pounds of recycling per household in the Windrowe subdivision.
Using that figure, Planning Director James Mills estimates trash going to the landfill could be reduced by a third if curbside recycling is implemented city wide.
“This gives us an idea of what we would have to do if we did decide to go to curb side,” Mills said. “One of the recommendations in the study was making curbside recycling mandatory and requiring all citizens to participate.”
The study also recommended picking up regular trash on an every other week basis.
“We believe if we did go full time recycling it would cut the amount of materials going in the regular trash so we could do that,” Mills said. “That way we don’t have hire additional crews or buy additional trucks.”
Mills said the city-wide curbside recycling would not be implemented this fiscal year.
The curbside recycling pilot program was tested for three months in the Windrowe subdivision. Crews provided containers and picked up recyclable materials every two weeks from each household. The study was completed in May.
Mills said more discussions will take place before the city makes a decision on implementing the curbside recycling city-wide.
