CITY RECYCLES TON DAILY; AMOUNT OF `CONTAMINATED TRASH' ALSO RISES

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Although citizens' response to the city's recycling program has been positive, city officials say at least one-eighth of the materials collected aren't salvageable.

Doug Kaminskey, the city's environmental services coordinator, said that about 300 pounds of non-recyclable trash is separated each day from the materials brought to the city recycling bins at the Public Works Building on Kingshighway.

The separated "garbage" must then be taken to the landfill, he said.

The city collects more than a ton of materials daily with the voluntary recycling program. But Kaminskey and Glenda Quinn, of the Cape Girardeau County League of Women Voters, said the volume of materials citizens are bringing to the site continues to increase.

Quinn is working with city officials on administering the city's recycling program. She said the citizen response has been great, but that people must be careful not to bring "contaminated" materials to the recycling bins.

"We don't have the manpower to separate the recyclable material from the trash," she said. "It's getting worse because more people are bringing their stuff in all the time.

"I don't want it to sound like we're ungrateful. The response in Cape has been great.

"We just want people to be aware that they're defeating their purpose by not following our recycling guidelines."

Quinn said many residents are unaware of what materials are suitable for recycling. The city collects dry newspaper, corrugated cardboard boxes, glass and recyclable plastic.

But Quinn said there are restrictions, including:

Only dry newspapers are acceptable. Quinn said if newspapers become wet even if they are dry when brought to the recycling bins or if papers become yellowed, they're no longer recyclable.

Only corrugated cardboard boxed are accepted. That doesn't include cereal or pizza boxes, Quinn said.

"Some people have been bringing in pizza boxes that still have pizza in them," she added. "That doesn't do us any good."

Glass must be rinsed thoroughly and lids or caps must be removed.

Only plastic items with a recycling logo are accepted. They also must be rinsed and lids or caps must be removed.

Quinn said the Public Works Department has received a considerable amount of "mixed paper" with newspaper that residents have brought in.

"There's no current market to recycle mixed paper," she said. "I don't want to say it can't be recycled because it can. It's just there's no market right now."

Quinn suggested that residents also pull glossy, advertising inserts out of their newspapers before they deposit them.

Kaminskey said the volume of recyclable material deposited at the Public Works Department bins has more than doubled since the program was started last spring.

Although the bins are available to all Cape Girardeau residents, Kaminskey said the city still isn't able to provide a citywide, curb-side recycling program. He said the manpower and equipment needs are too demanding to make such a program feasible now.

"I think right now we're just trying to work out the best method of collection and what kind of equipment is needed for recycling," Kaminskey said.

Quinn said a pilot curbside program started last year in Woodland Hills subdivision also has been useful for determining the most efficient recycling methods.

"I think people are definitely ready to recycle," she said. "We just want to try to take care of some of these problems before we get into looking at a more comprehensive program."