Recycling Just Got Easier

Mike Meuse of Allied Waste Management, those guys who collect your recycling, presented the new recycling bin to Council, which looks an awful lot like a normal trash bin.

Taller, on wheels and having a flip top, the new receptacle takes some of the work out of recycling and makes it safer. The wheels were added to make moving it easier and the flip top keeps recyclables in the can. Being much taller than the current bin, the new one holds 35 gallons, almost twice the material of the current one, yet keeps the same footprint as the old 18 gallon one.

“We collected 595,000 pounds in July,” said Meuse. “2,256,000 pounds went into [the] landfill. That’s about 20 percent of total [was recycled]. It’s a good rate.” But not good enough. Meuse and Allied Waste want to increase that 20 percent to 25 percent. To do so Alpharetta must increase its recycled material by 113,000 pounds per month, or 2 pounds more per house per week.

The new cart was introduced to make that goal easy for each household.

“Alpharetta will be, to my knowledge, the second municipality in the entire metro area to provide residents with this type of cart,” said Meuse. Everybody else still has the small 18-gallon box.

“I actually have one,” said Councilwoman Cheryl Oakes. “I’ve had mine for about a month. It’s great. It rolls easy and the lid keeps the dogs away… I love the rolling feature.”

“It helps support our goal of a greener city,” said Mayor Arthur Letchas.

There will be no additional charge for the new recycling can. Residents just have to turn in the old one.

To order, call Allied Waste at 678-407-6216.