FeedsWestland expands recycling options
There are three new collection sites for paper recycling now available in Westland.
According to Westland City Councilman and Recycling Committee Chairman Jim Godbout, committee members were actively searching for ways the city could make recycling more attractive by increasing the number of drop-off sites when he learned of the Abitibi Paper Retriever program.
The program, which serves as a fundraiser for schools, municipalities, and community organizations in several countries, was relatively simple. In return for permitting the distinctive green and yellow collection bins on their property, the city will be paid for each ton of paper collected and the more the bins fill up, the more cash flows into the city. The bins will generate about $15 per ton of paper collected, which will be used to help fund fire education programs.
Various departments throughout the City of Westland have already embraced the idea of turning their trash into cash by depositing basic paper debris into the bins and now city personnel hope to appeal to residents, too.
According to Westland Fire Chief Michael Reddy, a lot of consideration went into determining where the collection bins should go.
“We didn’t want to place a bin where it would be in conflict with another collection site,” he said. Locations in close proximity to paper collection bins used by other groups were eliminated automatically.
The containers were ultimately deposited besides two Westland fire stations and the Westland Cable Department facility to spread out the coverage area as much as possible. They will be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“The easier and the more convenient you make it, the more people will use it,” said Godbout.
Godbout said that he expects the project to benefit the community, which hasn’t been able to establish curbside recycling yet, in at least three ways. With the additional paper that would otherwise be headed to the landfill headed to a recycling center, he said that they could help the city pay less in landfill costs. Plus, the program will generate some additional revenue for the fire department. Last but not least, Godbout said that he expected some people to participate out of a desire to do “the ecologically correct thing.”
“The landfill space is filling up rapidly,” he said. “Paper products are the one item that has a (significant) monetary value in the recycling world. It’s a win/win situation.”
According to information on posted on Abitibi’s web site, www.paperretriever.com, “one ton of recycled paper saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space and 2,100 kilowatt hours of electricity—enough to heat a home for six months or run a television for 41 hours.”
The bins can accept any type of paper-based products, except cardboard. That broad range of target items differentiates it from the recycling program Westland already has in place, Godbout added.
“Even at the transfer site, they don’t like magazines and glossies,” he said.
