By Ian Thompson | Daily Republic | January 12, 2009
Butch Johnson, a recycling driver with the Solano Garbage Company, picks up one a curbside recycling bin while working his route Monday afternoon in Suisun City. The city will be replacing the bins with larger recycling toters, which will also have lids.
SUISUN CITY - No longer will Suisun City residents have to stuff their recyclables into 14-gallon bins and carry those bins to the curb.
No longer will those recyclables be blown away on windy days because the bins do not have lids.
Residents will have a much easier time handling their recyclables once they receive 65-gallon containers, which will come with lids and wheels, according to Solano Garbage Company.
The containers are expected to double how many items are recycled. They will also prevent paper and cardboard from turning into trash again when they blow out of the bins.
'We are shooting for May or June, if not earlier,' said Geoff Harrison, general manager for Solano Garbage.
Residents have been asking for the larger containers for some time, Harrison said. The toters will significantly increase the amount of garbage that gets recycled in the city because residents will no longer be required to separate their recyclables.
'They will no longer have to sort them out,' Councilman Mike Hudson said. 'This is a great opportunity to increase the recycling.'
Suisun City's present diversion rate is about 40 percent of all residential garbage collected. The new containers are expected to boost that rate to 75 percent, according to Harrison.
'They can put all their materials into one cart that is easy to wheel out,' Harrison said. 'It will make it easier for people to recycle. It will be a good deal for everybody.'
The City Council approved the containers last week in an amendment to the city's contract with Solano Garbage. The contract with Solano Garbage was extended five years to 2023 to allow the company to amortize the costs of the containers without additional cost to residents.
Garbage rates are staying the same. Solano Garbage agreed to increase the number of community cleanup days from two to four a year. The dates for these clean-up days have not yet been announced.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
