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One Year Later: Almost Half Of ECUA Customers Are Recycling
December 23, 2009
Curbside recycling has been available in North Escambia has been available for almost a year, and the program continues to grow.
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority introduced curbside recycling throughout Escambia County in January of this year, coinciding with their takeover of the Allied Waste franchise in North Escambia.The latest numbers from ECUA show that about 34,100 households — about 46 percent of all ECUA customers in the county — are enrolled in the recycling program, and that number is growing by about 250 new sign-ups per week.
During the first nine months of the program, ECUA collect 3,682 tons of recyclables, keeping those items out of the Perdido Landfill. The latest average sis 116 tons per week, with a record-setting week of 136 tons of recyclables collected the week of October 9.
About 12.5% of recyclables received by ECUA are “contaminated” — containing incorrect items.
The following items are accepted:
- Newspaper & Inserts
- Magazines & Catalogs
- Junk Mail & Envelopes
- Cardboard
- Office and School Papers (colored paper)
- Boxboard (cereal, cracker boxes)
- Brown Paper Bags
- Aluminum Cans
- Tin and Steel Cans
- Plastic Milk Jugs
- Plastic Bottles with necks only
- Phone Books
The following items are not accepted:
- No Food-Tainted Items
- No Ice Cream Cartons
- No polystyrene foam products (coffee cups, coolers, packaging)
- No Pizza Boxes
- No Aluminum Foil
- No Plastic Cups & Silverware
- No Aerosol Cans
- No Other Plastics (hangers, food trays, etc.)
- No Juice Boxes / Bags
- No Garbage Yard Waste
- No Glass. Glass items are accepted at county drop-off centers.
Plastic bags are not recyclable, but ECUA encourages the use of plastic bags to hold other recyclables such as paper to prevent the items from blowing out of the the recylcing truck.
Comments
14 Responses to “One Year Later: Almost Half Of ECUA Customers Are Recycling”
One year late and it is just as we feared. We have been paying more money to a government organization for half the service that was provided by a private company. We sent in 4 separate requests for the recycle containers and are still waiting. Meanwhile I spend half of my day on Saturdays burning my trash.
And before anyone tries to claim we are paying less, take into consideration the charges for paying online 3 times as often. A service available free with Allied.
To: recycling on December 24th,
I don’t know if you are right or wrong about ECUA, but what I do see it that you are capable of independent thought and you are smart enough to think things through and make your own observations. These days there are too may loud mouths like Wild Bill who just blindly repeat the propaganda that they have been force fed without taking time to think for themselves.
I beg you to keep it up. Keep making critical comments on this blog and keep asking the hard questions that make the rest of us take a second look at what is going on. Never let followers like Wild Bill intimidate you when they claim that everyone who doesn’t just roll over and comply with what they are suppose to think are ignorant. Exactly the opposite is true!
I’m not tooting my own horn, I am just trying to survive. I just give to others because that’s how I was taught. Think of others first. And I do recycle somethings to ECUA.
recycling on December 23rd, 2009 6:56 pm ,
I have no affiliation with ECUA other than they pick up my trash/recycling. My statements were not directed towards those who do recycle, nor those for which recycling is unavailable. My comments were for those who have recycling available, but chose not to recycle because they somehow think this punishes ECUA by withholding profit that may be made from the recycled materials. I have no clue, nor any care whether they turn a profit by recycling, I am just happy that that portion of the trash can be re-used in lieu of polluting our environment. As for ECUAs community involvement, I am sure a quick search of their website would yield numerous ways they support the community. No different than most large corporations including the one I work for. As for what I personally do for the community, not really any of your business, I feel no need to toot my own horn. I can say however, that I sleep well at night knowing I have sacrificed plenty for this country.
My entire point, albeit a little gruff, was that recycling IS a good thing. Not recycling is further polluting the environment that our chidren will have to live in after we are long gone. Which I view as pure and simple ignorance.
Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your family as well.
Well, Mr. Wild Bill, I would appreciate you not referring to some of us as ignorant. I do recycle and I think its great also. But, let me ask this, you sound as if maybe you might work for ECUA, or may even know someone who does? I recycle my aluminum cans, my paper, donate magazines to Dr.’ s offices, to Church libraries, to some who like magazines and can afford them, as I have received mine as gifts. So being upset at the fact that the ECUA has set what you can and cannot recycle and looking at the list tells me they are making money off of us its not right. Are they willing to take this money from our recyclables and maybe putting it back into the community? Like maybe paying these taxes for the children that want to play ball and can’t afford it. I bet not. Or are they taken the money and making sure our elderly have blankets and heat? I doubt it. So don’t call me ignorant.
I am disabled, my husband has been laid off for 22 months, and does odd jobs, alot of those are for the elderly and he doesn’t charge them anything, he’s just happy to be helping. Other odd jobs he takes he charges very little to help us make ends meet. So if I want to keep my aluminum cans to recycle, so we can afford more cans or a loaf of bread I don’t think thats ignorant. Maybe your a lucky man who has a job and can provide for your family and thats great. Do you donate? Do you do things for the community? I bet not. You sit back and get on here and call people names. Just maybe you are one of blissful people you are talking about after all. I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
I think the recycling program is GREAT! Americans generate an average of 1,500 pounds of trash per person per year. Where do you think this stuff goes? Some of it burned, but most of it is buried where it begins decomposition. During this decomposition process, attempts are made to prevent the toxic chemicals from reaching your water sources, but a good amount of it still leaks by. This probably won’t effect you in your lifetime, but what about your children, and your children’s children. To forego this program just because you think ECUA is making a buck off your trash is ignorance at its finest. Obviously this program is a little too foreward thinking for some of you. They say ignorance is bliss. This town must be full of blissful people.
I would like to go back to the 2 day pick up. even with the recycling you can’t put anything with “food tainted items” in the recycle can. Which leave everyone with food basically rotting for a week in the can. Then you have to deal with the wildlife and/or stray animals getting to the overflowing can which is a whole other ordeal.
I would rather have a 2 day garbage pick-up then recycle the way ECUA wants us to recycle. Their idea of recycling is nothing more than making money off of our recyclables.wHAT we can and cannot recycle. Thats right! I save my cans and recycle them and collect back some money, not alot, but I bought the cans, I’m entitled, they make enough Money.
I say give us back our 2 day pick up. I agree with Mary, it should of been our choice and at the same price Allied charged, that’s the fair way.
All they think about is how can They make a little more money off of us. I’m tired of not being able to have in choice in these things.
I also don’t believe that the recycling is as big as they say it is. What are they going for a recycling trophy or an award?
2-DAY GARBAGE PICK UP IS WHAT ALOT OF US WANT!!!!!!
Has anyone noticed all the trash along Highway 4? Is this from the garbage trucks or has it always been this bad and I just didn’t notice? My daughter and I saw whole bags of garbage along the side of the road yesterday. It was strewn from Coopers to Hwy. 97! It looked awful! If this is from the trucks, then something needs to be done immediately!
I wonder what the cost is? I know that paper recycling is not always cost efficient, or even neutral. Some will say that ‘we are saving the planet’ I say “hogwash”. So much of the feel-good mantra of the day.
We consume so much more then we need, and waste more then we consume (as a matter of habit in western society) that silly steps like recycling are just a band-aid IMHO.
ECUA should have givin the customer the option (weekly)of two trash pick ups or one recycle and one trash instead of trying to force what it calls recycling. We do not recycle with ECUA because at this point, ECUA will say anything to make the program sound good. I have no problem recycling! We take our recycle products to drop off areas because ECUA is not recycling, they are getting the public to seperate items that make them money! The second problem I have with ECUA is: how much percent of trash do their trucks leave behind on the ground after their wonderful recycle pickup truck does it’s run? ALOT!!!! With all the money they are making on the public seperating items for them to sell back why don’t they spend some updating/improving this problem or pay someone to go behind the trucks and clean up the mess they create picking up the trash?
Considering ECUA was against recycling and predicted it would fail, I doubt they would exaggerate the numbers in favor of the program…It does not fit their agenda of failure.
I enrolled in the recycle program because 1 trash pick-up per week would have resulted in an over-flowing trash can in my drive-way. With Allied Waste, we had 2 trash pick-ups per week. I assume most of the enrollments in the recycle program have resulted from 1 trash pick-up per week.
However, participating for nearly a year, recycling is a way of life at our home. I have no complaints.
When I drive around the county on garbage day I can see how many of those recycle containers are sitting out by the road and it is nowhere near 50%. ECUA must be fudging their numbers. Is anyone else seeing it that way?
First, they try to cover up the problem with our impure water. Now it seems to me that they are exaggerating the success of their recycling program. I can’t believe anything they say anymore. It seems they just make up whatever numbers they want and then swear that it is true.