Recycling Decline? Garbage Collection Up, Recycling Collection Down In June
Thursday, August 3rd, 2023
Recycling collection was down and garbage collection was up in Dalton in the month of June. That comes after several months of declining recycling tonnage in Dalton and that has City leaders concerned.
"What’s concerning to me is that (June) is the first month that we’ve seen an increase in the total of garbage disposal," said Chad Townsend, Dalton's Public Works Director. "Over the past four months we have noticed that recycling numbers are on a continuous decline (but) our recycling trucks are continually getting full, but we have been seeing a decrease in the total tonnage."
"It could even be boiled down to the weather," Townsend said. "You know, cardboard is not sitting out in the rain and getting wet and getting heavier going to the recycling center."
Data collected over the past four years shows that 944 tons of garbage were collected by Public Works in June 2023 which, while a decrease from the previous month, is an increase of 29 tons compared to the same month in 2022. The City collected 60.1 tons of recyclables in June, a decline of more than 18 tons compared to June 2022 and also a six ton decrease from the previous month. Recycling tonnage in 2023 has been down in general when compared to the last two years. Data from 2020 is likely skewed by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.
"I don't think we're seeing less participation in the recycling program, but (June) was the first time I was kinda concerned about the numbers and seeing that actual increase in the tonnage of garbage."
The City of Dalton provides curbside recycling collection to single-family dwellings, individually-owned condominiums and townhomes, and multi-family dwellings that are triplex or less within the City limits. Items that can be left in the blue recycling bins for collection include paper, tin and aluminum cans, plastic bottles and jugs, and also cardboard provided that the cardboard is broken down and folded so that it fits inside of the bin. Cardboard boxes that cannot fit inside of a recycling bin must be taken to one of the cardboard recycling collection locations around the City. The list of items that are not allowed to be left for curbside recycling collection and other information about the program is available online by clicking here.
"Obviously, (recycling) is a lot more environmentally friendly," Townsend said when explaining why City leaders encourage residents to recycle whenever and whatever possible. "Our landfill only has a certain lifespan. Recycling obviously saves space in the landfill and minimizes land use impacts as well as conserving space in the landfill. It helps expand and extend that life span."
The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority's landfill does indeed have a limited lifespan. In 2022, the landfill saw record tonnage being deposited and even with a new cell opening within the next year, the expected lifespan of the landfill is only about 15 more years. The DWSWA has a number of options to continue expansion beyond that or even can create a new landfill, but making sure that the community is recycling as much as possible to limit the amount of material being dumped into the landfill is important.
If you do not currently recycle and would like to, call the Dalton Public Works Department at 706-278-7077. The department will drop off up to three recycling bins for your use for free. The bins and pick-up are provided as a service of the City of Dalton.
