Council Chairman Dennis Nuss would like to see curbside recycling brought back into St. Charles Parish. Nuss said recycling efforts were made before Hurricane Katrina, but the company that offered the services to residents has since left and hasn’t returned.
“Curbside recycling would eliminate tons of trash piling up in landfills,” Nuss said “It takes 10 to 15 years to get permits to secure new landfills, while trash continues to pile up.”
Nuss says we need to start thinking 30 years down the road and preparing for the future.
“Recycling is so important for our environment,” he said. “I’m considering taking up this measure again at some point, but I would like to know that I have the support of the parish administration before moving ahead.”
Nuss held a committee meeting earlier this year where an interested recycling vendor attended.
“The Phoenix Recycling Company did a presentation about recycling at a committee meeting earlier this year,” he said. “It would add about $1 to $1.50 cost to customer’s water bills, but compared to the long term impacts to reduce the amount of trash in the environment, that’s mild.”
The blue recycle bin would serve as a trash receptacle and residents wouldn’t have to separate trash.
“The only thing that couldn’t be put in there is glass,” Nuss said. “But the company that did the presentation said part of their service was to separate the trash so residents wouldn’t have to worry about picking out what’s recyclable.”
Parish President V. J. St. Pierre says he does support recycling efforts but feels the residents should also have input.
“I remain open to consider any proposals made to restart the Parish Recycling Program,” he said. “I understand the environmental benefits of recycling, however, the cost of this program, which would likely be substantially higher than before (Hurricane) Katrina, would be borne by the citizens and I want their input before committing to any proposal.”
The Parish holds recycling events every two months. At those events, residents can bring their recyclables to various drop off points in the parish.
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