Recycling program a big hit

Parish adds 11th bin at Winn-Dixie in Luling

Jonathan Menard/Herald Guide

The parish has added another recycling bin in the Luling area to take pressure off of the bins located at the Professional Learning Center and Lakewood Elementary.

Because of increased demand, St. Charles Parish has added yet another permanent recycling bin in Luling in order take pressure off two other bins that are constantly stuffed with recyclables.

The parish added 10 recycling bins around the parish in March, and so far residents have taken advantage of the weekly drop off spots. Several of the bins, which are located at schools and parks on both the East and West Banks, are usually full by Wednesday's pick up day.

But the two most popular spots have been in Luling at Lakewood Elementary School and the Professional Learning Center in St. Charles Plaza. To handle the overflow from those bins, officials have decided to add a bin in the Winn-Dixie parking lot in Luling.

“Hopefully that will take some of the pressure off the two bins in Lakewood and at the learning center,” Renee Simpson, parish spokeswoman, said.

Simpson said that the parish routinely gets calls about both bins being full. They also get calls about about a Destrehan bin, which is located at the East St. Charles Fire Station in Ormond.

“Personally, I'm not surprised because we had a lot of people that were dedicated to our monthly drop offs, and now that we have it every week they are taking advantage of it,” Simpson said.

Councilman Dennis Nuss agreed, saying that he knows his constituents are dedicated to recycling.

“I continue to get several emails each week inquiring about the possibility of curbside recycling and expanding the number of bins and/or locations in my district,” he said. “I have been working closely with the administration to ensure that the drop-off sites are effective.”

At the beginning of the year, the council voted against adding curbside recycling to the current garbage contract, but Nuss hopes to revisit that again in the future.

“In the meantime, I believe educating the public on the importance of recycling should be our primary focus,” he said.

The 11, 8-cubic-yard bins are available on a daily basis for residents to drop off their recyclables.

 

The locations include:

•Lakewood Elementary School, 501 E. Heather Drive, Luling

•Professional Learning Center, 12715 Hwy. 90, Luling (Old K-Mart site)

•Winn-Dixie, 12125 Hwy. 90, Luling

•Landry Alternative Center, 108 Tiger Circle, Hahnville

•Hahnville High School, 200 Tiger Drive, Boutte

•J.B. Martin Middle School, 434 South St., Paradis

•West Bank Bridge Park, 13825 River Road, Luling

•IMTT Field, 10645 River Road, St. Rose

•East Bank Bridge Park, 9762 River Road, Destrehan

•Behind East St. Charles Fire Station, 1949 Ormond Blvd., Destrehan

•Spillway Levee Batture, End of Fifth Street., Norco
•Montz Park, 100 Calcagano St., Montz

 

Before recycling, residents need to remove all food and liquid from bottles or cans and rinse them and remove caps. Items do not need to be sorted but should be placed together in a bag or box.

Materials accepted include plastic containers (numbers 1-3 and clear drink bottles), white or colored paper, cardboard (without food residue), paperboard (including cereal boxes), newspapers with inserts, magazines, phone books, junk mail and steel, tin and aluminum cans.

Materials not accepted include glass, plastic shopping bags (these may be recycled at local stores), aerosol cans, pots and pans, furniture, toys, Styrofoam, hardback books and paper napkins, cups or plates.