FORT BENNING, Ga., (Aug. 17, 2016) -- The Fort Benning Directorate of Public Works is advising Fort Benning housing residents to take their recyclables to designated collection trailers after Aug. 26 because curbside pick up services will be discontinued after that date.
DPW, which oversees housing repair and maintenance, stated that the decision to terminate the service was not their choice.
"Our housing partner was able to work out a deal with the city of Columbus, where the city would come and pick up recyclables curbside," said Kirk Ticknor, chief of Operations and Maintenance Division.
"Unfortunately, the city decided that it was not financially viable for them to keep the service going."
"The city of Columbus takes recyclables, such as plastic, paper and cardboard, and sells those commodities to offset the cost of collection," said Kathy Barry, community housing director of the Villages of Benning. "The worth of these materials fluctuates, so the more prices go down on these materials, the more materials they need in order to break even."
"The city of Columbus had to lease vehicles to come onto Fort Benning and pick up the recyclables curbside," said Barry. "Due to the cost of leasing these vehicles in combination with declining worth of materials, the city of Columbus decided it could not afford to continue the service."
Ticknor stated that although curbside service may be ending, people will still be able to recycle close to their home.
"We are going to put out recycle trailers at or near all housing areas," said Ticknor. "You can segregate your recyclables and take them to the trailers. They can take aluminum cans, paper, plastic and cardboard. However, we cannot take glass because it has no value in the market. You can use the GuideOn app to find trailer locations or ask your community manager."
Barry said that the recycle trailers would be accessible in each housing area of Fort Benning.
Barry stated that since the city of Columbus picked up recyclables any money from the sales of those recyclables would go to the city. However, since all residential recyclable materials will now go to the recycling center on Fort Benning, Fort Benning will receive money for the materials, which will be used for future community events and projects that benefit Fort Benning.
"For example, projects that promote more recycling, reduce pollution and save energy are funded through the recycling program," said Ticknor.
"We've always had a recycling facility on Fort Benning, but now since we will no longer be using curbside pickup, those materials will go straight to our facility," said Ticknor.
"We hope to restart the curbside service one day, so please keep your blue recycle bins."
"We don't want to pick up the blue bins because we are actively working on other options to restore curbside service. We want to reestablish the service," said Barry.
Ticknor also stated that if residents decide to put all their trash together in one bin, and the bin gets full, to contact a community manager.
"You can request an additional bin for an extra $9 a month," said Barry.
Barry also encouraged residents to take bulk trash, such as furniture, to designated dumpsters or contact a vendor of their choice to pick it up.
"We have a bulk trash pickup that is scheduled monthly. We post dates for our once a month bulk pickup in our newsletters and our Villages of Benning Facebook page," said Barry.
For more information on recycling or trash pickup, call the Welcome Center at 706-685-3939 or visit https://villagesofbenning.com/ and www.recyclefortbenning.com
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