Towns strive to reach new recycling goals

   Editor’s note: This is the second story in a series looking at recycling in the county.
   As the state continues to place an emphasis on county and municipal recycling rates, Burlington County officials remain optimistic about the local effort.
   The most recent statistics available come from the 2005 municipal recycling rates. These numbers indicate which municipalities are hitting their marks, and which towns need to improve their current status.
   One town doing its part is Florence, which reported a recycling rate of 66 percent. According to the county Web site, Florence reported 11,617 tons of municipal trash, with 7,667 tons being recycled. Ms. Moore said recycling coordinator Tom Sahol has been instrumental in the success Florence has experienced.
   ”Florence has a long history of being very aggressive about recycling,” she said. “Mr. Sahol called us to say our schools need to be doing more.
   ”Together we worked with the school district to obtain recycling containers and educated the staff and students about their importance.”
   Ms. Moore also indicated that the numbers can sometimes be deceiving. Chesterfield and Shamong are the only two towns in the county where residents must contact a garbage hauler directly to have their trash collected. Ms. Moore said this forced to Chesterfield to give an estimate of its recycling rates.
   Chesterfield reported recycling 1,157 tons of the 3,393 its residents produced. Ms. Moore said since residents are billed for their trash, it helps recycling.
   ”When they see what their garbage is costing them they become more inclined to save money by recycling,” Ms. Moore said.
   Then there are factors beyond the control of the municipality.
   In New Hanover, a 4 percent recycling rate was reported, but Ms. Moore said that figure was the result of the military base in the township. According to Ms. Moore, the state figures the military waste into the equation and New Hanover’s numbers are skewed by the failure of the base to properly report its recycling statistics. She indicated that for a town like New Hanover with few houses and businesses, coordinator Geoff Urbanik has done a good job.
   ”He has been aggressive in having containers places near places like local bars and other businesses,” Ms. Moore said. “The military base probably produces 10 times more than all of New Hanover, so that percentage probably isn’t fair.”
   Ms. Moore said the county will continue to work with the municipalities and their local schools and businesses through various workshops in hopes of producing a continual increase in the county’s recycling rates.
   The state Department of Environmental Protection reported Burlington County’s municipal recycling rate was 35 percent, slightly above the state average. In order to meet the state goal of 50 percent, both the county and its municipalities will have to work together, according to District Recycling Coordinator Ann Moore.
   ”We hold recycling coordinator meetings several times throughout the year,” Ms. Moore said. “If the towns need us we are here as a resource.”
   According to Ms. Moore, municipalities are required by law to appoint a recycling coordinator. The problem, she said, is many people in this position might only have one hour per week to devote to recycling.
   ”A lot of calls get forwarded to the county office,” Ms. Moore said. “We act on the municipalities behalf when the town doesn’t have the available resources.”