Ventnor's new recycling carts are blue with burgundy lids.
VENTNOR An older woman attended a town hall meeting held at the Ventnor Community Center Tuesday, June 18 to share her story about the new trash and recycling carts that were delivered to residents in May.
The unidentified woman, diminutive in stature and needing assistance to walk, said the carts are taller than she is and she cannot reach up to put her trash inside.
Others said the oversized carts don't fit through the gate in their fence or are too heavy to maneuver. Another gentleman who lives alone said he could never generate enough trash or recycling to fill the 96-gallon containers.
According to Atlantic County Utilities Authority President Rick Dovey, those who have problems with the carts are few. The majority of residents are pleased with the carts and only 150 residents filed complaints with the city, Dovey said.
The Ventnor City Democratic Club hosted the town hall meeting for residents, however it was not a political event.
Dovey spoke at the meeting to provide residents with accurate information about the city's effort to reduce the cost of trash disposal and mitigate litter that often blows into the bay and poses a threat to marine life.
We have one of the best, most aggressive recycling programs in the country, Dovey said. The 95-gallon carts are the best practice in recycling and most cities and towns that use them have seen recycling rates increase, which saves money on trash disposal.
After discussing it for three years, the Board of Commissioners purchased 11,000 trash and recycling carts and asked all residents to use them on trash collection days.
The 95-gallon carts hold more, create less litter and prevent recycling materials, such as cardboard and paper from getting wet, and it keeps the seagulls out of the trash, Dovey said. This is the trend in recycling for multiple reasons, including that it is more efficient for collections and it is safer for employees who lift 300 to 400 trash cans a day. It's a dangerous, injury-prone job.
Each of the carts came with a microchip recording it as registered at the address where it was delivered. In the future, an app will record how much trash and recycling is picked up at each location and the information will be provided to the city to measure efficiency, Dovey said.
The first line of contact for residents who have issues with their carts is the ACUA, city Administrator Maria Mento said.
Residents should call the ACUA Recycling Center at 609-272-6950 to register their concern. The ACUA will then contact the city and Public Works Supervisor Ed Stinson will review the complaint to determine validity and if the resident can obtain a set of smaller 64-gallon carts.
The carts that are returned will be stored at the ACUA to be used elsewhere when needed, such as to replace a cart that gets damaged or goes missing.
It is not unusual for shore town vacationers to generate more trash or recycling than fits in the 95-gallon containers, so property owners can purchase a second cart from the city for $65.
In the meantime, what do residents do with the little blue buckets they've used for years? They can recycle them or keep them for overflow.
Residents will have until July 15 to call the Public Works Department at 609-823-7935 during business hours to arrange to have their old blue buckets picked up, or they can drop them off before the deadline at the Public Works yard, 101 N. Cornwall Ave. After the deadline, residents can bring their buckets or old trash cans to the rigid plastics bin at the ACUA recycling center, which is located at 6700 Delilah Road in Egg Harbor Township.
However, some people might want to hold onto their old blue buckets to dispose of yard waste. Trash and recycling are collected weekly in Ventnor and yard waste is collected every other week.
Other Atlantic County municipalities that have purchased carts for their residents saw a marked increase in recycling, which brings down the cost of trash tipping fees, Dovey explained.
Since January when carts were delivered in Vineland, that city experienced a 20% increase in recycling. In Brigantine, another Atlantic County shore town, recycling increased 10 percent, Dovey said.
Since recycling is collected, sorted and sent to the commodities markets at no cost to taxpayers, every ton of material that gets recycled saves the city money on landfill tipping fees, which are $65 per ton.
The city starts saving money immediately and the carts practically pay for themselves, Dovey said.
The ACUA financed the $552,000 cost of the carts, which will be paid back over a seven-year period as part of the city's collection contract. The ACUA, which is not charging the city any interest, also secured a grant to cover $7 of the cost of each cart.
Dovey also shared information about the history of recycling, which has been mandatory in New jersey since 1988, and discussed recent changes in recycling that have been implemented to reduce contamination of the commodities.
He repeated several important rules for residents to remember, such as never put plastic bags in with recycling, bottle caps go in the trash, bottles and cans should be rinsed before recycling, and don't put recycling or yard waste in plastic bags. Pizza boxes that never had a pizza in them can be recycled, he said, but boxes that have oil stains are considered contaminated and should be put in the trash.
The ACUA also has an interactive website, acua.com, where residents can click to find out more about recycling and collection schedules, or chat live with a representative.
For more information, see ACUA.com.
