Chattanooga's New Enhanced Recycling Could Save City Money

Chattanooga homeowners can soon leave their recyclables at the curb every other week. In 2006, the city cut back from weekly curbside service to once a month pick-ups. It's all sorted here at Orange Grove.

Mayor Ron Littlefield talks about what it was like when recyclables were picked up weekly.  "It was pretty grim when we were doing weekly curb-side recycling and they were ending up as almost half of it was really garbage," he said Tuesday.

The catch: you have to sign up.  You can do this at this website:  www.recycleright.org or call (423) 643-JOIN. 

Right now, the trucks hit every street once a month. Beginning September first, trucks will only go to neighborhoods where people have signed up for the service. Littlefield says this will save between $750,000 to $1 million a year.  "We will route their daily route in the most efficient manner where they will spend the least amount of money and utilize the equipment and crews in the most effective way and burn the least fuel," added Littlefield.

But it will cost money to promote. The city council will discuss allocating $100,000 of the recycling budget to Waterhouse Public Relations.

"We're just following through on promises," said Littlefield of returning to bi-weekly collections.  "You have to do these things in steps and stages and we're at the stage when we're ready to make that step."

All of the revenue created by selling the recyclables comes back here exclusively to Orange Grove and the people who work here.

Martin Smith is the Education Coordinator at the Orange Grove Recycling Center.  "It goes back to our clients to support their programs," he explains.  "It's everything to them. There's people on the recycling line that have been here since the very beginning when recyclables were sorted on folding tables."

Chattanooga's changing brush collection, too. Starting July first brush pick-up will be on demand. In some areas garbage collection times will also be changing. Residents will be notified before this happens.

Longtime Recycling Advocate Frank Depinto calls the move to bi-weekly collection a 'Major Curbside Recycling' Victory.

Depinto started a recall petition against Mayor Littlefield in May because of the cut-back to monthly recycling collection.