CITY NEGOTIATES TO RECYCLE MIXED PAPER

Much of the junk mail, office paper, envelopes and cereal boxes now deemed solid waste in Cape Girardeau could be recycled soon.

Cape Girardeau Environmental Services coordinator Steve Cook said the city is negotiating with a company to become the first in Southeast Missouri to enter into the mixed-paper recycling business.

"If it works out, we'll be in one of the newer recycling markets," Cook said. "Of course, it would take an effort on our part to educate people on what can and can't be recycled, but it would help us come closer to reaching our goal of a 40 percent reduction in solid waste."

In 1990 Missouri adopted Senate Bill 530, which sets goals and deadlines for management of solid waste. The most prominent goal is to achieve a 40 percent reduction of solid waste disposed of in sanitary landfills by 1998.

Cape Girardeans have an added incentive to get involved in recycling. A solid waste task force's recommendation that a three-bag pickup of solid waste be reduced to two bags by next year was implemented. Extra costs, which have yet to be determined, will be charged for each additional trash bag.

Cook said cereal boxes with a vapor barrier to keep contents fresh would not qualify for recycling under the mixed-paper proposal. Other cereal boxes would, however. Some envelopes that contain plastic material would not be eligible, he said.

Cook said Cape Girardeau has reached a 20 percent reduction in solid waste since the city began a recycling program in 1991.

With the help of the League of Women Voters, Cape Girardeau began a pilot curbside-pickup program in 1991. The voluntary program, now citywide, reclaims glass, plastic, steel, tin, aluminum cans, newspaper, magazines and corrugated cardboard.

Joe Ayers, who supervises the trucks and drivers who pick up recyclables, said Friday is the busiest day. "We send out three trucks and make from 900 to 1,000 stops," Ayers said. "It used to be that we'd get one to two bags; now we see an average of three to five bags for each home."

Through a national grant from the League of Women Voters, the city launched an educational campaign to promote recycling in the south part of the city last fall.

"Based on the count of homes participating in recycling before the project and after, we saw a 20 percent increase in that area," said Glenda Quinn, who represents the Cape Girardeau chapter of the League of Women Voters.

There are approximately 550 homes in the targeted area, which is bounded on the north by College Street, the south by Hackberry Street, the west by Beaudean Lane and the east by the Mississippi River.

"If we could get additional funds, we could start more educational programs in other parts of the city," Quinn said. "Education has had an effect on city residents."

Cape Girardeau has helped its recycling cause by offering the leaves it picks up for compost material and mulch. This year between 75 and 80 percent of the 1,128 tons of leaves picked up were distributed to farmers, gardeners or citizens.

The city spent $99,000 in its leaf-removal program in 1993. However, the same program cost $83,487 this year. The savings came from making fewer trips to pick up and deliver leaves to residents by way of a more streamlined program.

Some 20 percent of leaves are turned into mulch and delivered to the south end of Arena Park. The mulch can be picked up by citizens at any time.

Of the $12 each Cape Girardeau citizen pays for solid-waste removal, $2.61 goes for the recycling and collection and 27 cents for leaf collection and composting.

Jackson has operated a voluntary recycling program for the last two years. Paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and all scrap iron can be delivered to the city's recycling center on Florence Street next to the street department building at 416 Florence.

Sikeston also has a voluntary recycling program. The recycling site is 451 Smith Street. The city accepts recyclable material from noon to 5 p.m. each Wednesday. Materials that are accepted are newspapers, aluminum cans, cardboard, glass and plastic.