Thurmont's recycling will expand    

By James Rada, Jr.
Thurmont Dispatch News Editor

THURMONT, Md. – Not only will 166 homes in Pleasant Acres and Jermae get curbside recycling provided by Frederick County, about 80 homes in Bennett Estates should have been receiving curbside pick-up of recycled goods and have not.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Thurmont Town Commissioner Ronald Terpko after the Frederick County Commissioners voted on Feb. 9 to expand the county’s curbside recycling program. “The whole town within the municipal boundaries will have curbside service.”

The ability to expand the program came about because the county received $148,894 more for its recyclable products than it had budgeted. The county commissioners decided to use some of the savings to expand the curbside recycling program. About 50,000 homes in the county currently have curbside recycling.

“People have been waiting for that for a long time,” said County Commissioner Jan Gardner. “We’ve had requests from municipalities and residents for curbside service.”

The Division of Utilities and Solid Waste Management (DUSWM) used three criteria in deciding what areas should be included in the curbside recycling program:

• Did the service areas meet the expansion criteria established in the county’s contract with
Allied Waste?

• Who has requested curbside service?

• Is the area partially serviced by the program?

Based on these criteria, DUSWM considered expanding the curbside service to 29 areas throughout the county. Nine of those areas, including Pleasant Acres, receive partial service now. Of the remaining 20 areas, 13 met DUSWM’s expansion criteria. This group includes the Jermae area.

“Seven new areas did not have scores to warrant expansion but we feel they should be monitored for future expansion,” said Landfill Manager Phil Harris.

Among this group are 42 homes in Mount Prospect Estates.

The commissioners voted 4-1 to expand the curbside service to 22 areas. This includes 3,535 homes and will cost an additional $58,515 from the additional recycling revenue.

As for the roughly 80 homes in Bennett Estates, Terpko said the residents need to contact the county to make sure they receive recycling containers.

With additional subdivisions included in the curbside recycling program, waste disposal costs for Thurmont will decrease.

“With everyone in the town recycling, we could save 20 on 30 tons possibly, maybe even more,” Terpko said. “That means we could save $20,000 to $30,000 a year and that’s a one-cent reduction on the tax rate.”