Thurmont’s
mandatory recycling is here
BY JAMES RADA, JR.
Thurmont News Editor
THURMONT,
Md. – A lot of blue bins have been showing up on Thurmont
curbs lately for the July 7 mandatory recycling.
“You
can’t imagine the huge number of bins out now,”
said Commissioner Ron Terpko who serves as liaison to the
recycling commission. “I have to give the town kudos,
they are trying.”
During
one early week in June, 17 of the 64 requests for recycling
bins received by the county recycling office came from Thurmont
addresses. This means 27 percent of the bins were for an area
of county representing only 3 percent of the population.
“That’s
slowing down from a couple weeks ago,” said Jan Ely,
Frederick County Department of Solid Waste Management and
Recycling Office.
On June
19, six of the 16 requests were from Thurmont addresses.
The Thurmont
Town Commissioners approved the new trash ordinance in June
and mandatory curbside recycling pick-up will begin July 7.
Mandatory recycling covers corrugated cardboard, newspaper,
mixed paper, metal cans, glass bottles, glass jars, plastic
bottles and grass clippings.
The grass
clippings were picked up on Mondays in June and will be picked
up again in the fall. The other items will be picked up on
Friday mornings.
“If
you’re putting out recycling in your bin and trying,
we’ll work with you,” said Commissioner Ron Terpko.
He said
the town would be working to educate residents on what can
and can’t be recycled.
“Even
if you’re making mistakes, if you’re trying, we’ll
work with you until we get it right,” Terpko said.
He said
the intent of issuing citations to violators is to not penalize
those who are trying to recycle but those who won’t
try.
He also
said getting the bugs worked out of the program will take
a few months.
Friday
morning recycling items should be placed in the blue recycling
bins the county provides. According to Ely, the county provides
one bin free to each county address and additional bins cost
$6 each.
“They
don’t need an additional bin,” Ely said. “You
could use a similarly shaped container.”
If you
still need a bin to hold your recycling, call (301) 696-2960.
