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Letters: Make curbside recycling easier, more frequent

 
Published Jan. 3, 2014

Recycling gains don't offset inferior service Dec. 29 editorial

More recycling info needed

I'm a snowbird from Wisconsin enjoying my 23rd winter in Florida. I was ecstatic when I arrived here in November to find our recycling program had been expanded to include a greater number of plastics. As a single person, I used to generate one 13-gallon blue bag every month. That's without beer and soda cans, which I crush and donate. This year I fill a 13-gallon blue bag every two weeks.

But, it's practically impossible to find meaningful information about recycling in Pasco. This year our schedule in Holiday was changed to the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, which meant Christmas Day. I knew right away that would be problematic.

My garbage and recycling is billed through Forest Hills Utilities Inc. Their website's home page shows the new pickup days; however, if you go to the pickup info page, it still has all the old pickup information. No information about a holiday schedule.

My bill from Forest Hills does not indicate who our waste hauler is, nor does the website. I haven't seen an actual truck this year, but in the past I've seen trucks from Waste Management, so I went to its website. It gives a general holiday schedule that their pickups are delayed one day after the holiday. So I put my recycling on the curb Thursday morning, which happens to be our garbage day, also. I put the garbage on one side of the driveway and the blue bag on the other to avoid confusion. Well, they did pick up the garbage but not the recycling. I put the recycling back out on Friday — still no pickup. I guess I'll have to wait another two weeks.

I've emailed the recycling coordinator for Pasco County several times to get the recycling pickup information on their website. I was told because there were eight different haulers that they couldn't keep track of it; I should call my hauler. Very frustrating.

I am passionate about recycling. My daughter refers to me as the recycling Nazi. I do try to educate people about recycling, i.e., watch the numbers on the plastic, remove all caps and don't recycle pizza boxes and oil containers.

While I am in complete agreement with the editorial's financial analysis of the recycling situation in Pasco and would certainly enjoy a lower cost, I'd be happy if the present system just worked a little better and, more importantly, that recycling information was more readily available.

Thomas H. Hansen, Holiday

Recycling gains don't offset inferior service Dec. 29 editorial

Stand up for better recycling

Excellent Times editorial regarding Pasco's inferior curbside recycling. Commissioner Henry Wilson, please keep up the pressure regarding franchising the county's trash collection system.

The subdivision I live in for the past two years has had recycle pickup once a week. In December, we were cut back to twice a month with no decrease in fees. If the county is truly serious about recycling, then competitive rates and once-a-week pickup is a must.

It is inexcusable for Pasco to be paying more in fees for less service than our surrounding counties.

R. Tribbey, Hudson