Delaware state recycling advisors are in the process of developing a proposal for a mandatory curbside recycling program to boost the state’s lagging residential recycling rates, according to a report in the News-Journal (Wilmington, Del.).
The governor’s Recycling Public Advisory Council, the Delaware Solid Waste Authority and the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control have agreed to develop the proposal in January, the paper reports.
According to the News-Journal, at 14 percent, Delaware’s rates for residential recycling fall far short of the national goal of 35 percent.
The program would focus on paper, plastics, cardboard and metal cans. The exclusion of glass based on risks of breaking and contaminating paper products has garnered criticism from some environmental groups, the News-Journal reports.
The mandatory pickups would begin in New Castle County, followed by the rest of the state a year later.
“I believe it needs to be done,” Bill Preston, contractor and Delaware resident, tells the paper. “There are just so many people who are unaccustomed to recycling. Are we on the right track? I think the only way it’s going to get righted is to force some people into it. Once people are in, they say ‘You know, it’s not so bad.’”
Others have a less optimistic outlook on the proposal. Alan Muller, director of the environmental group Green Delaware, tells the News-Journal that some features of the proposal¾like reductions in drop-off centers and the ban on glass¾ are more likely to alienate people than bring them around to recycling.