“Green Communities” or “The Greening of America” continue to be among the most popular catch-phrases used these days in pop culture and the mass media. And when it comes to recycling, conservation and environmentally-conscious communities, Rolla and Phelps County are putting up some pretty solid numbers.
With the cooperation, involvement and assistance from the residents of Rolla, and the hard work of the City’s Solid Waste Department, the City-wide residential fall clean-up held on Oct. 4 was a big success. How big of a success was it? I’m told by Brady Wilson, Director of Solid Waste, that members of the Sanitation Division collected nearly 95 tons of bulk waste in nine hours during the one day event.
To put this into perspective, try to imagine how many cars or trucks (weighing in at 2 to 4 tons each) it would take lined up along the street to equal 95 tons of bulk waste. Quite a few. The clean-up, which is held twice a year in the fall and spring, (first Saturday of October and April.), has become one of the most popular and successful events/services of the year. The City-wide residential spring clean-up for next year will be held on Saturday, April 4, 2009 so you might want to make a note of it on your calendar. All items must be to the curb by 6 a.m. on that day. A list of important dates can also be viewed on the City’s Website at www.rollacity.org/waste.
Have you ever considered how many tons of recycled materials are actually collected every month by the City’s Recycling Division? During the month of September, 2008, 168 tons of recyclables were shipped from the Recycling Center. This amount is approximately equivalent to 24 fully loaded garbage trucks, or 480 compacted cubic yards. The disposal cost avoided by recycling this volume is approximately $7,500. The revenue received form the sale of these recyclable commodities totals approximately $21,800 for a total economic benefit of $29,300 from recycling for the month. To put this into perspective, during the same month, the Sanitation Division collected and hauled a total of 1,616 tons of refuse. This total monthly tonnage represents approximately 231 fully loaded garbage trucks or 4,620 compacted cubic yards. The cost to dispose of this amount of refuse was $72,000. Clearly, recycling takes a pretty hefty bite out of the refuse that is collected every month.
Looking ahead toward the month of November, if that seems possible, Rolla City Hall will be closed Monday, Nov. 11 in observance of the Veterans Day holiday. The Solid Waste Department will be picking up Tuesday’s trash on Wednesday. Rolla City Hall will be closed on Nov. 27 and 28 for the Thanksgiving Day Holiday. Thursday’s trash will be picked up on Wednesday.
For more information, please call the Solid Waste Department at (573) 364-6693 or visit their homepage on the City’s Website at www.rollacity.org/waste.
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