HAVERHILL — The folks who live on the Tuesday trash route will soon get a chance to learn more about the trial single-stream curbside recycling program they will be offered starting next month.
Mayor James Fiorentini has scheduled a series of neighborhood meetings with those whose trash is picked up Tuesday.
Right now, Haverhill residents can only recycle paper products at the curb. To recycle glass, metal or plastic, they have to drive to the Highway Department garage on Primrose Street between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday.
The pilot recycling program will start in July. It is generally estimated that 10 to 11 percent of Haverhill residents recycle. In order for the program to break even, Fiorentini said that rate must double.
Remi Depommier, head of Team Haverhill's recycling research group, said the residents on the Tuesday pickup actually have the lowest rate of recycling of all the trash routes. He said only 6 percent of them recycle.
To expect their participation rate to jump from 6 percent to 22 percent in just a few weeks is "unreasonable," he said.
Fiorentini, however, insists that he is committed to expanding the city's recycling effort. Recycling proponents point out that the more Haverhill recycles, the less the city will have to pay in tipping fees when all that trash is brought to the incinerator.
The information sessions are scheduled as follows:
Tuesday, June 9 — St. James Elementary School, 415 Primrose St., 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 16 — West Congregational Church, 767 Broadway, 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 23 — Haverhill High School auditorium, 137 Monument St., 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 30 — Haverhill Citizens Center, 10 Welcome St., 5 to 7 p.m.
Monday, July 13 — Ayers Village fire station, 1420 Broadway, 5 to 7 p.m.
Among the topics to be reviewed are the benefits of recycling and trash reduction, an introduction to "single-stream" recycling, a demonstration of what can and cannot be recycled, and information on how residents can use their own containers for this recycling program.
"Like any new program, residents are bound to have questions," Fiorentini said. "We intend to answer any questions in order to increase participation to maximize environmental and economic benefits for the city. I encourage residents along the Tuesday trash route to attend one of our information sessions."
The mayor is seeking "neighborhood champions." They would join with a committed group of volunteers from various organizations, including Team Haverhill and the Haverhill Environmental League, to promote participation in the recycling pilot program.
Residents on the Tuesday trash route, which include neighborhoods from the Acre to Ayers Village, will be able to put all their recyclables at the curb every other week starting July 7. The program is being offered by Capitol Waste and IPR at no cost to the taxpayers, Fiorentini said.
Also at no cost to the city, the mayor said Covanta Energy has donated theentire cost for production of at least 7,000 recycling stickers that residents will use to distinguish their recycling from their regular trash. These stickers will be mailed to eligible residents later this month and will also be available at designated sites.
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