CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Curbside recycling is back on the agenda for Chesapeake City Council.
“What we would really like to see is for curbside recycling to be brought back now,” said Lacy Shirey, the co-founder of the organization Chesapeake Recycles.
Last month, city council members tabled a vote on whether to add a referendum on curbside recycling to the November ballot. It would ask voters if they want the service to return to the city but this time with a fee.
At a June meeting, members wanted to give the city manager more time to develop an estimate on that fee before voting. This Tuesday night, council members are expected to take up the item again, deciding on this question:
“Should City Council adopt an ordinance imposing a mandatory fee of up to $10 per month on all households that receive City trash service in order to reestablish curbside recycling for those households only?”
Some residents say they want the service back, highlighting the inconvenience of driving to drop-off locations to recycle items.
“It’s so much more effort,” said resident David Rhodes.
Dropping off recyclables at a local site doesn’t bother Rhodes. But he said he supports a referendum to bring back the curbside service, and he wouldn’t mind the fee.
“I’m sure some people would be upset about it but it wouldn’t matter to me,” Rhodes said.
“Not everybody can pay that fee,” said one woman at the city council's meeting last month.
Shirey said a referendum is not ideal but it’s a step in the right direction to bring curbside recycling back to the city. Shirey thinks people would show up to the polls and vote for the service. However, she said the biggest question for city leaders is how they came up with the proposed fee estimate.
“We do have concerns that the fee listed in the referendum may not be reflective of the true cost of recycling," she said. "So, we’re worried about that educational piece.”
Chesapeake City Council members are expected to vote at Tuesday night's council meeting. It starts at 6:30 p.m.