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Town Council members voted to send out a request for proposals to waste haulers to determine how much a recycling program would cost.
The council hopes one or two haulers would pick up both recyclables and trash from homes once a week. The plan excludes commercial properties and homes where trash is placed in Dumpsters. Service for those places would be addressed later, Councilman John Safay has said.
Seven companies now provide waste removal on the island. Some will haul away recyclables for an additional fee, but recycling is not required by the town.
Under the new plan, residents could opt out of pickup service but would have to haul their garbage and recyclables to a county dump site.
James Frey, CEO of Resource Recycling Systems, the consulting firm hired by the town to develop the proposal, says the plan will save residents money.
"Savings comes from the bundling of services with one service provider, so instead of six different trucks, you have one truck hitting every house," he said.
Private haulers will bid for a five-year contract, Frey said.
The town also will seek bids for a separate contract to process the waste and recyclables. Three companies are interested in processing recyclables, Sarah Skigen, the town's natural-resources associate, wrote in a letter to the council.
One of those companies is Waste Management, which processes Beaufort County's recyclables. Waste Management only accepts some recyclables though, while the other two prospective processors -- Sonoco and Pratt -- can handle all plastics, cardboard, mixed paper and glass, Skigen wrote.
The plan would allow households that recycle to earn points that can be redeemed for things like groceries and other goods and services.
If the plan is approved, islanders who already have recycling contracts with haulers could continue to use those haulers for one year, Frey said.
Discussions on mandatory recycling began in earnest last year. The town's current recycling performance is poor and conflicts with its stated goal of being environmentally friendly, Frey said.
The Town Council expects to have a recommendation from Frey on which hauler to hire by the end of May.
