Chester is trying to get serious about recycling

Let’s be real, Chester has never been serious about recycling. Despite assigning people in city hall to run the recycling program, there’s never been a serious effort to engage Chesterites on participating in this supposedly mandatory endeavor.

The half baked efforts continue as documented in today’s Daily Times.

City officials hope the transformation of city hall into a zero-waste facility will inspire residents to participate in the city’s recycling program.

Really? They can’t be serious. It's a great effort for City Hall but I can’t see how home owners will be encouraged to recycle just because City Hall is doing it. Let's count how many of you run over to city hall today for your blue recycle container.

DiIenno said the city produces 1,100 tons of waste each month, but only 25 tons of recycling — a figure more in line with a municipality the size of Aldan. The city’s 2.5 percent divergent rate is the lowest in the county, he said.

Another statistic where we sit at the bottom. Of all the years we supposedly had recycling, there hasn't even been a messily 1% year-to-year increase in participation. How does the city continue to justify staffing people responsible for running the recycling program if they are not raising these percentages? Shouldn't participation justify their salary?

West said her department has sent a request to the state government, asking for recycling containers to be distributed to each city resident.

Ah ha. Here’s the statement I’ve been waiting for.

Up to now, the city has always asked us to come to city hall to pick up a recycling container for our home if we want to participate - although recycling is supposedly mandated. However, I get the sneaky suspicion that if every home owner lined up at city hall today, there wouldn’t be enough recycle containers for us all.

I’ve always wondered why the city never distributed recycle containers with a note explaining how the mandated program works. Instead, they just stack the supply of blue recycle containers in a storage room at city hall awaiting our request to release one if we can get off of work and come by city hall to get one before they go home.

Now we know that a request has gone to the state government for them to bring the cans to us. Why can’t we do this on our own? Or, why hasn’t the state been asked to do this long ago? 

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