Today's meeting considers recycling options

The discussion about the future of recycling on Hilton Head Island will continue today, and town officials hope to end up with some direction about what residents want.

The meeting will include a presentation by a representative from Hemingway, S.C.-based Phoenix Recycling. Committee members hope to get input from residents as well.

The town is entertaining several options, including requiring recycling for all residents and businesses. It could be a while before any recycling policies actually hit the ground, but the town this year committed to greening up some of its practices and trying to improve the image of the island as an eco-friendly community.

Chairman John Safay outlined five options the town is considering:

• Leave the current system in place, allowing homeowners to choose curbside recycling at their homes or take their recyclables to the convenience center off Dillon Road.

• Push to increase voluntary recycling and use town money to promote and encourage participation. Ideas include printing recycling labels for trash cans. The drawback of this approach is that a voluntary system wouldn't be as efficient as a townwide effort, Safay said.

• Develop a full-scale, town-administered mandatory program. The town would select a designated hauler to pick up recycling across the island and a recycling truck would go to every home to collect bottles, cans, newspapers and other recyclables. The estimated cost of $40 to $60 a year would be included in residents' property tax bills.

• Develop a mandatory recycling program, but allow residents to select their own waste hauler.

• Adopt a "pay as you throw" program that's promoted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program is a drastically different kind of trash collection because it treats it like any other utility, such as electric or gas, where people pay based on the amount of the service they use.

Residents would get special trash bags through a local grocery store marked for regular trash or recycling. The bags would be scanned when they're thrown into the truck, and residents would receive a bill for the amount of trash they throw out.

Safay said he isn't sure which option is best, but the "pay as you throw" idea warrants consideration.

"We are a progressive community, and we might be able to help lead the way if this is the right program for us," he said.

Meanwhile, the Town Council this week said it will look at putting recycling containers in parks and other town property.

"If we're serious about recycling," Mayor Tom Peeples said, "we need to lead by example."