Chickamauga city residents will soon see green cans lining the streets.
The city is partnering with Republic Services to offer recycling beginning March 3, as was unanimously approved at a city council meeting in early February.
Republic Services Area Municipal Manager Monica Moseley, residential operations supervisor Chuck Bruce, operations manager Jay Dunham, general manager Joe Salamone and Chickamauga City Hall office manager Jim Powell, from left, celebrate the city’s new partnership with Republic Services.“We serve the city of Rossville and the city of Fort Oglethorpe,” said Republic Services Area Municipal Manager Monica Moseley. “We do curbside recycling and curbside trash. As the residents call to participate, we can bring them a container. The service would be every other week.”
She said the goal is to distribute 50 recycling cans the first month and to receive enough requests to be able to distribute 200 cans within six months.
Commercial businesses can receive containers for recycling too, she noted.
The cost of the recycling program is $8.50 per can per resident per month, said Chickamauga City Manager Micheal Haney. The fee will be a separate charge on the citizen’s utility bill. In addition, the public will have access to two dumpsters, one at the Older American Center and one behind the Shop-Rite, to deposit cardboard only.
“The larger this grows, the less landfill use,” Haney said, adding that it is costly to dump at the landfill. “The cost of the recycling program is pretty low.”
Republic Services general manager Joe Salamone said in the North people have to pay per bag of trash to encourage recycling.
“We kept getting recycling calls,” Haney said. “I think it will pick up and take off. We hope people will call for a recycling can.”
The new service is single stream, meaning residents do not have to sort their recyclables, and can merely toss them in the provided can to be picked up. Items accepted are flattened cardboard, magazines, office paper, junk mail, phone books, paperboard, brown paper bags, newspapers, plastic bottles, glass bottles and jars, steel cans and empty aerosol cans, aluminum cans, aluminum foil, pie tins and plastic grocery bags.
To learn more about the recycling program, visit here.
Chickamauga city residents can request a green recycling can by calling Chickamauga City Hall at 706-375-3177.
In other business:
It was approved to start the search for a new Chickamauga events and tourism director. Richard Barclift is stepping down in order to start a restaurant in North Hamilton County.
Cindy Roberts was appointed to the Chickamauga Planning Commission to replace Barclift.
Al Graham was appointed new elections superintendent. He is also replacing Barclift.
Dale Forrester was appointed to replace Barclift and Melinda Askew, Alan Darr, Virginia Mason and Jim Staub were reappointed to the Chickamauga Historic Preservation Commission.