Council tables vote on recycling

Published by the Mobile Press Register

City officials want more details on condos' participation in curbside program

Thursday, August 23, 2007
By RYAN DEZEMBERStaff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- With questions about whether the condos that line the city's coastline will participate, and how much residents will be willing to pay, the City Council decided to table a vote Tuesday on a curbside recycling program.
Before the council was a five-year deal in which a Robertsdale company, Recycle 831, would collect recyclables from homes, condos and buildings and kick back to taxpayers a third of the profits made from selling the plastics, paper and metals.

The city's cost, before any revenue sharing, would likely be about $522,000, which it could pay from its general fund or through increases in property owners' monthly garbage bills. Residential customers currently pay $12 a month for garbage pickup.

While city officials haven't decided whether the cost would be directly passed on to garbage customers at all, Recycle 831's proposal says that the service would require an increase of about $3.75 per month for each of the city's 11,607 doors, which include businesses, homes and condo units.

Councilwoman Joni Blalock said the residents she's spoken with are generally willing to support a small increase in the monthly garbage bill for recycling, but they may not go for $3.75 a month.

Councilman Larry Alexander urged the council to table the matter so city officials could be certain the condominium management firms and owners associations were on board. In all, Recycle 831 estimated that there are 6,577 condominium units in the city and the company's owner, Mike Harding, has said their participation will be crucial in gathering enough beer cans, soda bottles and newspapers to make the program profitable.

Representatives from Allied Waste attended Tuesday's meeting and told council members that they didn't submit a bid for the work because they didn't have enough time. They also said the curbside program the company operates in Gulf Shores, which is voluntary, has low participation and can't be called a success.

Condominiums aren't involved in the Gulf Shores program because, unlike in Orange Beach, they aren't covered under the city's franchise agreements with residential waste haulers.

City officials dismissed the waste giant's complaints about not having enough time to put together a bid, but did take note of the company's assessment of Gulf Shores' program.

Councilman Jeff Silvers said he spoke with some condo management firms at a recent Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau board meeting and while they said they'd welcome receptacles for recyclables, there was no discussion about increased garbage bills.
"That could possibly be a problem," Silvers said. "At that time we didn't have a figure."
Alexander, who lives in a condo tower, said he foresaw problems in collecting recyclables.

"Not only do they favor recycling ... but do they really understand what they've got to do because they represent more than half of what we have on this island?" Alexander said.
City Attorney Wanda Cochran told the council it could approve Recycle 831's bid subject to the city and the company negotiating a contract for the service, but the council voted 5-1 not to move forward with the matter.
Councilwoman Tracy Holiday, who wanted to move forward with the agreement, voted against the delay.

"This is something I feel very passionate about and I know that cost is an issue, but I feel like the cost of not starting a recycling program weighs much more than the cost of starting one," Holiday said.
Councilwoman Tracy Holiday