There are two very different things we’ve noticed when we walk around Moorestown:
1. Every other Wednesday, we see a blossoming of large blue containers along all of our streets and curbsides. There is obviously widespread buy-in and support by residents for the county’s recycling program. Moorestown folks are glad to cooperate with the environmentally friendly and sustainable practice of recycling their bottles, cans, other acceptable containers, cardboard and paper. And now that we have moved to single stream recycling, it’s easier than ever.
2. Meanwhile, on the sidewalks of our downtown business community, at our new town hall complex, and especially at all of our parks and ball fields, public litter baskets and trash receptacles are absolutely overflowing with soda cans, wax juice boxes, water and sports drink bottles, paper, etc. — all of which are recyclable, but in the absence of recycling receptacles are instead destined for landfills with other garbage.
These two contrasting situations clearly demonstrate that our citizens want to cooperate with and support recycling efforts, but are not being given a convenient way to do so in public settings. For example, coaches or parents would have to physically collect all the water bottles, Gatorade bottles and juice boxes from the kids after each ball game and then carry them home to their big blue recycling containers in order to ensure that they make it into the recycling stream.
Moreover, by not capturing these recyclables, our township fails to maximize a revenue stream as provided by the Municipal Recycling Tonnage Grant Program that Moorestown participates in annually. These NJDEP grants provide financial incentives to municipalities to increase their recycling activities. In 2014, Moorestown received $58,598. By doing more to capture more recyclables in our public places and in our homes, Moorestown would benefit by this increased revenue source.
We want to propose a simple solution to this problem:
We ask that our Township/Town Council obtain receptacles appropriate for each setting clearly labeled for recyclables and place them along the sidewalks of our downtown area and at all parks and outdoor recreation areas, right next to every existing litter basket or trash can. Then, arrange for their collection on the same frequency schedule as trash is currently collected from these public places. In this way, our common space recyclables will make their way into the recycling stream rather than into costly and overflowing landfills.
By the way, kudos to the Moorestown Business Association, or whoever was responsible, for doing this exact thing all along Main Street for “Moorestown Day” in June! It was great to see those blue cans uptown, and people using them appropriately, even if only on that one special day.
We’re confident that Moorestown residents will be happy to cooperate with this new initiative. It will contribute to a healthier environmental future while enhancing our bottom line, thereby making our community a more sustainable as well as more beautiful one in which to live.
John Khanlian, Lisa Petriello and Barbara Skacel
