The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners is trying to figure out how to restore recycling to unincorporated areas of the county.
When all else fails—and it pretty much has, considering no providers renewed their contract because they operate at a loss—-make it mandatory:
The first option is to make curbside garbage and recycling service mandatory for all 22,000 residents in unincorporated Forsyth. Barnette said service providers would compete fiercely to offer both services. This option could cost subscribers around $16 each month. Because of the public process involved, Barnette is unsure about when this option could start.
The second option would keep garbage service optional while making recycling mandatory. Barnette said the cost for the mandatory recycling would be about $5 and could be implemented in about four months.
The third option would make garbage and recycling a package deal, providing recycling service to the 13,000 residents who subscribe to garbage service. Barnette said that this option could also take about four months to implement. This would cost current garbage subscribers an additional $7 a month, approximately.
At least three commissioners think that making both garbage and recycling service mandatory is the most cost-efficient option.
“I don’t think there’s any other option than option one,” Marshall said. “We’ve been talking about this for years and haven’t done anything. We need to protect our environment.”
Note one commenter beneath the Winston-Salem Journal article said “Im not paying when I can bring my recycle to the landfill for free.” Ha ha—by the same token, there are still three centers in the county where residents can drop their recyclables, if recycling as important to them as it is to government. And it may be–or not.
