Letter: Richland needs to step up on recycling

I have lived in Richland since February 2016. I have lived in Los Alamos, N.M., as well as Olympia. I’m concerned over the lack of recycling being done curbside by all of our residents.

Recycling is not an option there. The cost is spread over the whole population. There are also recycle bins available for bigger items. In Olympia, you can pay a lesser fee for smaller garbage cans, and that offsets the cost of recycle bins.

I have spoken to staff at the Public Works/Solid Waste division. They thought a survey was done years ago regarding recycling. I have been appalled to see the continuous filling of garbage cans headed for the landfill with tons of cardboard just in my neighborhood. My new neighbors from Ohio were shocked that everyone was not recycling!

I would like to see Richland explore similar options. I think it is time to put Richland on the side of doing what is right for the community and have everyone put in some money to pay for the service, rather than just a few.

I would like to hear all of the council members and those who are vying for office to comment on this topic.

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Letter: Richland needs to step up on recycling."