This could be the year that Commerce finally gets some kind of recycling program.
If that happens, it will be because Ward 4 councilman Clark Hill is promoting a citywide recycling effort, and he says he has the votes on the city council to get it done.
Hill is also the chairman of the Downtown Development Authority, where the topic came up last Wednesday, Feb. 23.
Hill has been pushing Waste Management, the city’s garbage hauler, to offer some options. He said he asked its local manager to “go to Jefferson and see how they do recycling.”
Jefferson, which has had curbside recycling since 2003, is serviced by WastePro, Waste Management’s local competitor. According to Jefferson city manager John Ward, participation in the program is at about 70 percent, and residents pay $14.25 per month for garbage pickup and recycling. Commerce residents pay $14.50 a month without recycling.
“I’ve had two or three merchants in the last two weeks ask me when are we going to do that?” Hill said.
Hill also told the DDA that he “has the votes” on the city council to implement a recycling program.
In addition, Hill said he’s been talking to Waste Management about getting centralized collections for garbage and cardboard in the downtown. Part of the purpose is to get the green 90-gallon garbage containers off the city’s downtown sidewalks, where they are considered unsightly. A DDA survey of downtown merchants recently showed strong support for such an effort.
“They (the containers) make the downtown look trashy,” Hill commented.
Other DDA members expressed frustration that Waste Management does not regularly empty the black metal trash containers placed on city sidewalks for pedestrian use. The company is reportedly obligated to service those containers as well, according to the DDA.
