QUALITIES OF LIFE: WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

Cape Girardeau is doing its part for the environment by helping to reduce landfill waste.

The city has been reducing solid waste and increasing recycling since 1991.

Cape Girardeau has one of the top programs in the state, meeting and exceeding the state goal of landfill diversion, said Pam Sander, solid waste coordinator for the city's public works department.

Part of the reason for that is because the city started early, she said.

Cape Girardeau Department of Public Works started collecting recyclables in 1991, resulting in an immediate drop in the amount of solid waste generated by residents.

A Chamber of Commerce annual report includes recycling as one indicator of the quality of life in the city. More information is printed on Page 8B.

The report erroneously indicated that solid waste generated by the city rose in 1991 when it actually fell, but otherwise is correct regarding solid waste and recycling.

Actually, the steady decline of solid waste resulted in Cape Girardeau receiving the 1998 Missouri Waste Control Coalition's Outstanding Achievement Award for its curbside recycling program.

Nominated for the award by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the city was honored because Cape Girardeau residents had diverted 41 percent of the waste materials from the waste stream into the recycling program.

The statewide goal for waste reduction was 40 percent by January 1998.

Sometimes city residents' enthusiasm has caught the city off-guard.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day turned into a traffic jam last fall when the collection site had to be closed early because the amount of cars, trucks and waste overwhelmed the workers.

At one point the traffic jam extended on East Rodney to the National Guard Armory, and Cape Girardeau police were called in to direct traffic along the Arena Park interior streets.

What direction the recycling program takes in the future will be determined by the state, Sander said.

"This is just speculation at this point, but I think in the future we'll reach a point where recycling becomes mandatory," Sander said.

Unfortunately, Sander said, the bottom has dropped out of the market for recycled materials.

Part of the reason is that very few byproducts are made from recycled materials.

A new market in the construction-demolition field is going to help, she said.

Insulation, roofing materials, fence posts and building supplies are all available on the construction market.

Looking to the future, the city has applied for a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to help build a new public drop-off recycling building at 120 N. Broadview.

The cost for the new drop-off facility is estimated at $100,000. The grant request is for $80,000, with the city paying the remaining $20,000.

The proposed clear-span building would be open on the west side so residents using the drop-off service could drive up to the recycling bins and separate their materials. The entire area would be fenced.

Currently the recycling center drop-off area is shared with the city's public works and water departments. The drop off area is open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.