Alberton may lose recycling bin that serves public

The days may be numbered for Alberton’s recycling bin.

The large blue Republic bin is located in front of the Alberton Feed and Supply store and, for four years, it was the place where residents could take their recyclable trash items like cardboard, paper, plastic and aluminum cans.

The bin was a senior project put into place by Alberton student Shawnda Rohrback. The feed store allows the bin to be there free of charge and, up until recently, Republic donated the bin. However, they are now wanting to charge for it, explained Loreen Green.

Green, who has a history of working with recycling, has taken on the challenge to try and raise funds to keep the bin. She negotiated a fee of $300 per pickup and the bin is changed out twice per month, for a total cost of $600.

The town council sent out letters to local businesses and the school to see if they want to help pay for the bin, that they could then use for their business recycling. She is also looking into some possible grant funding.

“Maybe it could become another senior project for one of the students,” she said, “They could help monitor the program and educate the community about the importance of recycling.”

Not all items can be recycled. Things such as aluminum foil, clothing, aerosol cans, food waste, plastic bags, glass, paint, and yard waste are not allowed in the bin.

People were throwing those things into it and the feed store had to implement a policy of locking it up. Then they had to get a key to unlock it, which has been an inconvenience to both the store and residents.

“Maybe that could be part of the student’s job, to make sure people are using it properly,” Green said.

Garbage has been an issue lately since the town’s dump was ordered permanently closed by the state Department of Environmental Quality, leaving only Republic Services, which is the county’s waste disposal and trash pickup company. They took over the business from Felstet several years ago and there is a waste transfer station located at Lozeau.

Recycling has become an important component for the war on garbage. On average, people recycle 1.5 pounds of every 4 pounds of waste they produce daily.

According to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans generated 254 million tons of trash in 2013. Of that, roughly 34 percent, or 87 million tons, was either recycled or composted.