By Dalia Díaz
At the next City Council meeting on Tuesday October 15, they will be discussing mandatory recycling in the City of Lawrence with the introduction of a state program. The purpose behind it is to help saving the cost of trash removal.
We are paying $5,535 million for the first year of this new contract with JMS and an estimated $150,000 each year at $50 per ton of recycling. The more we recycle the less amount of trash we’ll have to pay for disposing of it.
And the fines… oh, yes, the fines which means additional revenue for the city.
“We will make available to our residents a Recycling IQ Kit to create consciousness and education on the best way to do it,” said Lorena Salazar, Lawrence Recycling Coordinator. “We should recycle, not just to save money but for our health, the environment and keeping the city clean,” Lorena added.
The Recycling Coordinator has established programs at the following schools: Arlington Middle, Wetherbee Middle, Parthum Middle, Up Academy, Oliver Partnership and Frost Middle.
There are also STEM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) with Dream Teams at Frost Middle, Arlington Middle and Parthum Middle schools. At these schools, professors who are fans of the importance of recycling use it combined with their science, math or robotics classes.
In the next editions we’ll try to bring interesting information to help you decide what is really recyclable.
Things that can be recycled:
– Gallons of milk and juices – lightly rinsed and crushed.
– All kinds of cans – lightly rinsed.
– Glass containers and bottles – rinsed.
– Plastic containers of fruits and vegetables.
– Packaging of cardboard and plastic eggs.
– Food containers should not have leftovers because when they break down they will contaminate everything else.
What should not be included:
– Bottles, knobs and cans that have not been rinsed or that contain food.
– Plastic bags or wraps of any item made of plastic. Those should be taken back to the establishment as they require a different procedure.
– Nothing made of Styrofoam.
– Do not put plastic coat hangers or things with strips that can become entangled in machines.
