Sabrina Massett
for The Catoctin Banner

Rising landfill fees and increasing waste has forced the town of Thurmont to cut costs by requiring residents to recycle. The ordinance reads: "In order to protect the environment by conserving natural resources and preserving rapidly dwindling landfill space, as well as minimizing waste disposal cost, it is the policy of the Commissioners of Thurmont to require mandatory recycling for all residential properties and to encourage commercial/industrial properties within the Thurmont Town limits to recycle all recyclable solid waste materials and implement solid waste source reduction activities."

Since July 1, 2006, Thurmont residents just refer to it as "mandatory recycling," and they’re working hard to abide by the new amendment. According to Arlene Donnelly of the town office, most feedback to the town office has been in support of the amendment; residents are just concerned they won’t "do it right." "It" is the separation of: 1) corrugated cardboard; newspaper and mixed paper; metal cans, glass bottles and jars, and plastic bottles; and household grass clippings and leaves. Residents can set these items curbside for recycling or take to the town’s recycling center at Eyler Park. Ms. Donnelly adds that residents are also concerned about the new monthly bulk trash pickup, limiting households to one item per pickup. Although one item per month is all that is allowed, stickers may be purchased at the town office for additional items.

Implementing the new amendment will have an educational curve, and residents will have time to adjust to the change. Large amounts of recyclable materials such as corrugated cardboard, paper, or bags of cans, will no longer be accepted with trash pickup, but BFI will not be looking through bags of trash to find the accidentally tossed can or milk jug. Plans are under way to hire a part time employee to monitor what is placed on the curb on trash day for approximately six months, until the program is running smoothly.

In making these changes, Thurmont joins a growing number of cities and towns across the nation that have recognized the need to significantly reduce the many tons of recyclable and organic materials going to landfills.

On May 1, 2006, the Frederick County began prohibiting yard waste from being disposed of in the refuse disposal area of the landfill. Thurmont has met this void by accepting residential yard waste on designated Saturdays only, at the Wastewater Treatment Plant on Moser Road. The next drop off date is scheduled for Saturday, August 19, 2006, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The town has continued to offer curbside pick up of bagged grass clippings and leaves on Mondays. August pickup will be evaluated depending upon the amount of rain received and need.

Although recycling may seem like a recent development, until the "modern era", it was a common household activity. The non-profit organization America Recycles Day reports that before the 1920s, 70% of U.S. cities ran programs to recycle certain materials.

During World War II, industry recycled and reused about 25% of the waste stream. From a low of 7.7% of the waste stream in the 1960s, the nation’s composting and recycling rate is currently up to about 30%.

Even major companies are part of the recycling game. For example, the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) Reuse-a-Shoe Partnership encourages NRC members to sponsor a collection event for all types of athletic shoes, eventually ending up as "Nike Grind", ground-up material used to resurface athletic fields, courts, tracks and playgrounds. To learn more about recycling your old athletic shoes visit www.nikereuseashoe.com.

Opportunities abound to not only recycle, but to complete the loop by buying products made from recycled materials. Think about something as common as tissues. The non-profit group Conservatree (also found on the web) notes that North Americans use 50 lbs. per person of tissue paper per year, and recycled fiber accounts for nearly 60% of fiber use in the tissue industry, yet too few consumers are making the choice to buy recycled tissue products.

Want to learn more about recycling? Visit the America Recycles Day website at americarecyclesday.org, click on Recycling 101 and the link to suggested reading to find books for all ages and interests. Or, attend a forum workshop on recycling. For example, the Sierra Club Catoctin Group, with the support of the Frederick Action Regional Network and the Western Maryland Greens, will host a workshop on alternatives to incinerating waste, on Wednesday, August 9, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. in the C. Burr Artz Public Library Community Room, 110 E. Patrick St., Frederick.

If you have questions on recycling, call the Frederick County Office of Recycling at 301-696-2960.

Some Common Recycling Mistakes

• • Newspapers should be placed in paper – no plastic bags – or bundled in twine
• • Plastic – narrow necked bottles only – no margarine tubs or other plastic containers. Remove caps from all bottles and flatten.
• • No contaminated food boxes – No oily pizza boxes
• • No broken bottles or jars