There's No Reason Not To Recycle

 

There's No Reason Not to Recycle

As appeared in the Key West Citizen, March 2, 2011

 

News flash: Key West businesses serviced by Waste Management can recycle for as little as $3 a month. Waste Management Regional Director Greg Sullivan said on the radio that a business can get a recycling account and 18-gallon bin for $3 per month, with once a week pickup. For many offices and small businesses, this should be enough to meet their needs.

Hopefully this will be welcome news to business owners who want to recycle but have mistakenly believed that it costs too much. It's not their fault -- getting accurate information about commercial recycling costs is hard.

I called Waste Management last week and was told that for my business, a small office, the minimum recycling requirement was a 96-gallon toter with pickup twice a week at a cost of $66 a month (which in itself contradicts Mr. Sullivan's statement that this level of service costs $78 a month). If I call tomorrow, I may or may not get the same answer.

I call this the confuse and diffuse strategy. The "local" Waste Management customer service is in Pompano Beach. They pull up information on a screen based on where you live in their vast service area. The representatives are usually very pleasant and helpful to the best of their ability. But if the information on their screen is inaccurate or out of date, you will be provided with wrong information. It's happened to me many times.

Most people won't go further than one phone call, and if they don't like the information (i.e., too expensive to recycle), they will give up and not pursue it any further.

If you want information on commercial recycling, call local representative Margaret Lara at 797-3312. If your business recycles, you should be able to decrease your level of trash service, and may save yourself some money. If you have questions about the information you're given, please let Green Living and Energy education know at info@keysglee.com and also let the city know at jgewin@keywestcity.com.

Jody Smith Williams

Key West