Community Corner

Trash Talk Paying Off For Tolland

It's about promoting recycling, the town manager said.

Tolland's trash output is down. 

And its recycling collections are up. 

That was the word from Town Manager Steven Werbner this week in his monthly report to the Town Council. He called the change "significant."

For the fiscal year that ended June 30, Tolland experienced a 9.5 percent decrease in "refuse tons" and a 2 percent increase in the amount of "recycling tons" compared to the prior year, he said. 

The town saved $33,487 with that reduced refuse tonnage and brought in recycling revenue for FY2013 totaling $31,381, Werbner indicated in the report. 

The recent swap-out program for larger (95) blue recycling carts; transitioning to a 10-month bulky waste pick-up schedule; changes to regulations to encourage recycling and control costs; and increased marketing through additional signage around town may be some of the reasons for the reduced trash tonnages and increased recycling tonnages, he said. 

"We are continuing to encourage all residents to recycle. Recycling can directly reduce costs to the town of Tolland," Werbner said.  

In the fiscal year ending in 2012, Tolland produced a total of 4,806.41 tons of trash. That went down to 4,342.82 tons in the fiscal year that ended in June, according to a chart produced by Werbner. 

Meanwhile, the FY2012 recycling collections totaled 1,736.95 tons. That went up to 1,771.54 tons last fiscal year, according to the chart. 

Town Officials are thus asking asked residents to refrain from putting  "unacceptable items" into the recycling stream.

Town officials said non-recyclable items that have recently been put into the blue recycling bins include:

• Plastic bags
• Styrofoam 
•  Coolers
• Food Waste 
• Trash
• Diapers
• Clothing

Town officials said residents should not put recycling in plastic garbage bags. Recyclables should put in the totes loose, they said. 

Residents can visit the following link for a full listing of acceptable and unacceptable items:

http://www.tolland.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Single-Stream-Recycling-List.pdf


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