Recycling survey

To the editor:

I returned to Lawrence this summer after living in two cities where recycling was made simple by the local governments. I have visited relatives in three other cities where recycling is the norm. It feels wrong, in this educated city, to not have a modern recycling program.

The key to an effective recycling program is providing weekly pickups by the city rather than expecting residents to take recyclables to another location. In both cities, I have lived in, Sarasota and Venice, Fla., every household was provided two recycling bins; one for paper and the other for glass, plastic and metal. On collection day, recycling bins were put out with the trash cans. One truck picks up trash; another truck picks up recyclables.

Relatives living in Orlando and Miami experience the same. All residents embrace the system. Another relative living in Jamestown, N.Y., experiences a recyclable system that is much less user-friendly. That system is not as accepted because the city requires recycling be separated further, paper one week, glass another week, cans another week, etc., and recycling bins are not provided. Simpler is more effective.

I have seen recycling work well. The key is to provide bins and weekly pickups. In two of the five cities I referred to, each truck is staffed with only one person. The cost for twice weekly trash pick-up, plus once weekly recyclables pickup, in each of these two cities is $2.62 per month less than in Lawrence.

Harry Anderson,

Lawrence