Recycling program will continue

After a couple of months gathering feedback from the community about whether Sundance’s recycling program needs to change, Public Works Director Mac Erickson says he’ll be taking on board the clearest indication possible that residents would like it to continue.

Since Erickson announced that he would be investigating whether to remove the option for curbside pickups, he says the volume of recycling being collected each week has been growing.

According to Erickson, the amount of people who are putting out their recycling has increased over the last few weeks.

In April, Erickson asked for input from as many residents as possible on whether the program should continue exactly as it is, including curbside pickups, or whether it’s time to do something different. He began his investigation because of a significant decrease in recycling, which made it more difficult to justify the city’s time and investment.

A month later, Erickson confirmed that there had been quite a bit of interest so far and that most people who had come to City Hall to share their thoughts wanted to keep the recycling active. However, he felt more time was needed to gather information to make the right decision.

On Tuesday, Erickson told the Sundance City Council that he had decided to continue the program for now, and feels it would be a good idea to “highly encourage” citizens to take their recyclables out on collection day.

Mayor Paul Brooks commented that he felt the discussion overall had been good for the community. He said he had also received feedback and heard from citizens who had become confused by the program, as well as others who said they’d gotten lazy over time but said they did still want to be a part of it.

With the council’s blessing, the recycling program will continue for now with no changes.