By Michael Van Sickler, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Do you recycle in St. Petersburg? If you do, you know how inconvenient it can be to lug your materials to a drop-off site.
Well, get ready, because going green is about to get easier.
The St. Petersburg City Council will vote Thursday on hiring Waste Services of Florida, Inc., to pick up recycled materials from the curb for the first time in city history.
And it will only cost residents $2.75 a month.
"This is great news," said Mike Connors, the city's administrator of public works. "We haven't seen a price like that in years."
If the council approves the contract, Connors said it would take about two weeks to sign the contract. Then customers will be able to sign up for it and get 18-gallon containers from the company.
The city will help promote the program by making a note of it on next month's utility bills. City officials also plan to pass out company brochures at city facilities and promote it on the city website and on its cable TV station.
By October, Connors said, curbside recycling will have begun. Cardboard, newspapers, aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles will be picked up.
Of the city's 80,000 homes, Connors said he is hoping for 20 percent participation, or about 16,000 customers.
If you live in St. Petersburg and take your goods to a drop-off station now, we'd like to hear from you. Please email mvansickler@sptimes.com or call (727) 892-2253.