Ringgold eyes recycling program
Ringgold is moving forward with its plan to offer recycling to residents and could soon have an all-in-one recycling drop-off spot in town.
During a City Council work session on July 11, city brass met with Monica Moseley from Republic Services Inc., which already services neighboring cities like Fort Oglethorpe, Chickamauga, Dalton, and Adairsville. While Moseley said some cities use bi-weekly curbside pickup, she discussed single-container use for Ringgold.
“Our containers are 22 feet long, five feet tall, and eight feet wide,” Moseley said. “There are no dividers in the container…. Everything goes in and all the sorting is done at a transfer station.”
The city would actually rent the container from Republic Services and then be responsible for monitoring its use.
The endeavor would cost the city about $3,500 per year, depending on how often the container is emptied.
Moseley even specified that the city could take part in a shortterm, trial-like contract to see if it’s something that is successful.
“I really think it’s a worthwhile thing to look into and we can at least try it out to see what kind of reaction we get from the community,” Mayor Nick Millwood said.
In the regular meeting, following the work session, the council unanimously approved moving forward with the project by finding a location, evaluating the total cost to the city, and see how much cost would be diverted from the county landfill.
The proposed container would allow residents to recycle newspapers, aluminum and tin cans, loose paper, cardboard, and common plastics one through seven.
The only major omissions of the container would be that of glass and styrofoam.
“We had a great presentation and we’re gauging the initial interest in a city recycling program,” Millwood said. “We haven’t decided where we might put the container yet, but it’d give people the opportunity to bring their recyclables out. With this, there would be a lot less that our garbage service would be taking out to the landfill, and it might even out some of that cost.”
Council member Sara Clark said the project would offer a lot to those in the community who are avid recyclers.
“I hope it turns us into a more progressive city,” Clark said. “Those all around us do have it….we could do it for awhile and see how much it’s used and how much could be diverted from the landfill.”