The city of Henderson is pondering taking over the curbside recycling program from the current contractor, said officials both in Tuesday’s Henderson City Commission meeting and in brief interviews the next day.
City Manager Dylan Ward, though, stressed that taking on recycling is still in the talking stage and may not happen. He said that decision won’t be made until later.
In Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Brad Staton was enthusiastic about the idea. He said that half of the complaints he’s received about public works involve recycling pickups. Those include that the vendor, Waste Management, can’t be reached or the recycling has not been picked up in a while, he said.
“I’m excited about the idea of you guys taking over recycling also,” Staton told Public Works Director Brian Williams on Tuesday. “I’m wildly in support of moving forward with this.”
To get prepared for the possibility of taking on curbside recycling, the Henderson City Commission agreed Tuesday to begin the process of purchasing a one-arm loading truck to add to the fleet of city-owned trucks that can be used for recycling. Ward said if the city doesn’t end up taking over curbside recycling the truck could be used for trash pickup.
The city commission gave permission for Ward to sign a letter of intent for the truck. This allows the city to get on a build-slot list and would allow the truck to arrive in August, Williams said.
“We want to look at possibly using the truck to do our recycling program,” Williams said.
Ward said the cost of the truck is $301,301.
“We’re buying the truck and we have every intention of taking over the recycling program eventually,” Mayor Brad Staton told the Hendersonian on Wednesday.
Ward said that if the city takes on recycling, it will save the city some money in a couple years.
