Meridian is launching a pilot program that gives residents, multi-family households, and businesses in the city an alternative place to drop off separated (unmingled) recyclable materials to benefit the Community Recycling Fund.
The large, green mobile collection unit includes four compartments for cardboard, aluminum, plastic and newsprint. “It will be placed at major community events such as CableONE Movie Nights, Dairy Days and the Community Block Party. Between events, it will reside just inside the gate at the Republic Services’ Meridian Transfer Station at 2130 W. Franklin Road, where the public is invited to drop off designated materials into the container free of charge, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. year round,” said Meridian city spokeswoman Kaycee Emery.
The large container will be easy to spot with painted handprints -– large and small -- on the outside, signifying the community’s support of recycling.
“Anyone who recycles -- or plans to do so -- in Meridian will get the opportunity to leave their painted handprint on the container during the Public Works Expo on Thursday, June 9 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at Meridian City Hall,” Emery said.
“One-hundred percent of the revenue generated from the program will go back to the Community Recycling Fund, which has not received any revenue from the City’s residential co-mingled (not separated) recycling program since 2012, due to poor market conditions in the recycling industry,” she added. “Over the years the Fund has helped pay for many public use amenities in the City that promote recycling including; the addition of permanent recycling containers in many City parks, new playground equipment, benches, picnic tables, bleachers made from recycled material and much more.”
“It’s a win-win program that helps support a community fund, giving the public more recycling options,” said Meridian Mayor Tammy de Weerd. “Some residents in Meridian don’t have access to recycling containers due to space limitations, or they might need a quick and easy way to remove large quantities of recyclables. With the Hand in Hand We Recycle program, they will now have an opportunity to recycle during hours convenient to their schedules.”
The Meridian Solid Waste Advisory Commission put together the program, helped with donated services by Republic Services and Western Recycling.
