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Curbside Recycling Set For October

MADERA COUNTY – Area residents anxious to begin curbside recycling will have to wait a little longer than previously anticipated, as Emadco Disposal Service has announced their plan to implement the service for customers will start at the top of the fourth quarter this year.

Reports previously indicated the service would begin this summer, but logistics including confirmation of contract details, purchasing 14,000 new bins, and supplying information to 7,000 homes, have necessarily reset the date.

Recycling Operations Manager Ashley Smith now reports the new program will be available at existing pick-up locations twice a month, at specific dates to be determined, starting on Thursday, October 1. In the meantime, customers who are excitedly anticipating the convenience of single-stream recycling can drop their bounty off at Emadco until such time as curbside service begins in October.

The plan for single-stream recycling is easiest for customers: all acceptable recycling goes into one single receptacle.The designated receptacle is said to be a 96-gallon cart of the color blue commonly associated with recycling. Also coming to customers of the Oakhurst-based company are brand new trash carts: one per household, 64-gallons each.

June 25 Emadco recycling posterThe new carts will be delivered in August and September, to about five areas a day, until all customers are reached. Included in the package is a calendar of pick-up days, answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), and a residential recycling guide that makes it really clear what’s in and what’s out.

Smith says some 70 percent of residents in the Oakhurst area are residential subscription customers of Emadco, who will have access to curbside recycling when the service is up and running. Residents who use Emadco’s service can already begin to familiarize themselves with what can and cannot be recycled.

While talk was on the table about mandatory trash pick up for county residents, that conversation has been tabled. While Emadco has had no price increase in six years, according to Smith, on July 1st the monthly fee for residents will go up a couple of bucks to $25.15, and in October another increase will bring the price to 27.15. Customers can expect to receive a flyer explaining all details in the mail within a week.

“Recycling, along with reducing and reusing the trash we produce, is an important component in the effort to preserve our natural resources and reduce environmental pollution,” Emadco’s website explains. “Curbside recycling is a chance to make a difference in our community for future generations, with small adaptations to everyday consumption and disposal habits. By sending less waste to the landfill today, we are building opportunities for a cleaner, brighter future for tomorrow.”

All of the recycling will be trucked down to a large plant where it’s processed from a conveyor belt and sorted out into various categories by hand, then compacted and shipped out again to its next stop on the recycling loop.

The following items will be acceptable to recycle into one single container (single-stream recycling) under the new program:

PAPER: newspapers, magazines, catalogs, phone books, cardboard, milk cartons, drink boxes, scrap paper, shredded paper, clean pizza boxes.

PLASTIC: milk/juice/cooking oil jugs, soda/water bottles, plastic cups/bags, household cleaning containers, shampoo/lotion/soap bottles, margarine/ice cream tubs, yogurt cups/frozen food containers, clean plastic flower pots.

GLASS: jars and bottles.

METAL: soda/juice aluminum cans, clean tin/steel food cans, aluminum foil/pie pans/trays, metal jar lids, copper/brass/aluminum, empty aerosol cans, newly emptied/clean latex paint cans.

Smith assures residents who recycle California Redemption Value (CRV) containers for cash that they are encouraged to take the CRVs wherever they choose if they want reimbursement on the items. If that’s the case, just don’t include them in your Emadco recycling.

The following items will NOT be acceptable under the new program:

Styrofoam, clothes, needles or syringes, food waste, green waste, waxed cardboard, windows/mirrors, latex/plastic gloves, tissue paper, electronics, diapers, garden hoses, PVC pipe, wire, rope.

Smith further notes that syringes can be safely disposed of in a specific receptacle at Emadco, at no charge. There’s a 24-hour drop box along the fence line. Anyone can take advantage of the for the free service of recycling syringes.

The biggest challenge for Emadco now is making certain that residents under the program are familiar with the what goes in and what does not go in the recycling bin. Smith says they’ll be talking about the program at town hall meetings and the company will provide recycling at community events, at no charge, in order to spread the word.

Can’t decide if an item goes into the recycling receptacle or not?

When in doubt, says Emadco, leave it out.

In addition to residential pick-up, Emadco works with businesses and law enforcement to help keep the mountain area beautiful and free of excessive amounts of trash. If you spot what you suspect is an illegal trash dump, Smith says you can alert the Sheriff’s office and also call Emadco. They may be able to get an illegal dumping site cleaned up for you.

Emadco also wants people to know they have a free household hazardous waste drop-off scheduled for Saturday, July 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Yosemite High School. Also on site, they’ll have an information booth for anyone with questions about the new recycling program.

More on Emadco Recycling

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