Fayetteville recycling program kicks off

FAYETTEVILLE It took the city nearly two months to distribute 60,000 recycling containers.

Hillendale North was one of the first neighborhoods to have its recyclable items collected.

Now the program is up and running and people are taking advantage of it.

"This is our first day," Fayetteville resident William Battle said. "I think it's a nice program. It helps the environment and what not. But I think it's a good program."

Recycling is no big deal to Tom Komsta. He used to recycle in Vermont. The only issue he sees is with the size of the 30 gallon container.

"I don't know if it'll be an issue but it should lighten up on the regular trash cans because a lot of people seem to have a problem overloading those," Fayetteville Resident Tom Komsta said.

Waste management is collecting the recyclable items. It's a one man band operation. The driver pulls up curbside and operates a mechanical arm. It lifts the blue container and dumps the load into his truck.

Now the system is automated and can placement is crucial. If you put your container too close to a mailbox or up against other containers, the arms can't get around it and lift it up. And then the driver will have to dismount.

In the fall, Pratt Industries will operate a recycling plant at a warehouse on East Mountain Drive. For now, the items are being containerized at the Ann Street landfill and shipped daily to a recycling plant in Charlotte.

"You know, we expect to see 5 to 700 tons a month diverted from the landfill. That could be 70 to 100 truckloads of trash that we don't put in the landfill here. And over time, that savings can't be measured," said Patrick Kalemba with waste management.