Bobby Doss of Dayton, Tennessee
Gary LouallenDAYTON, Tenn. - Dayton will begin a pilot program to recycle household waste in an effort to cut down on deposits in the county landfill.
City Council members voted Monday to begin the program with RockTenn of Chattanooga when neighborhoods with a total of 400 homes are identified. City Manager Frank Welch told councilmen he is recommending the Pine Henge, Garrison Heights and Edgewater communities, with about 300 homes, be among the pilot group.
"We'll probably look at Mountain View for the other homes," he said.
Cost for the city will be $5.33 per house per month, for a total of $25,584 for the year.
"We can get some money back for recyclables they can sell," he said.
But Vice Mayor Bobby Doss questioned whether the community is open to a recycling program.
"Most people just want to put [trash] in a bag. If they furnish a cart, people will be more willing" to participate.
Councilman Gary Louallen responded that home-owners will not have to separate the recyclables.
"This should cut down on our sending so much to the landfill," he said.
Councilman Steve Randolph, in making the motion to approve the pilot program, asked that city officials monitor the costs and revenue of the program closely to see if it should be continued and possibly expanded.
Welch said if the program is successful, it could be possible to reduce the present weekly garbage pickup to once every two weeks.
Meeting earlier as the Dayton City School Board, board members accepted retirement notifications from kindergarten teachers Maxine Vincent and Martha Hickman and from reading coordinator Susan Tallent.
Superintendent Mike Latham said the three have a total of 108 years of experience.
Contact Tom Davis at tsdavis@volstate.net.