SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): The Auburn City Council, in a unanimous vote, decided to eliminate the city’s recycling program from next year’s budget. The Council cited low participation rate by residents and increased volatility in recycling markets as the reasons behind the decision. It must be noted that only around 7% of the city residents has been utilizing the program.

The proposal to terminate the costly program was made by Councilor Steve Milks, who noted that the program is not working effectively for the amount of money it costs. Bringing the material to Maine Waste to Energy on Goldthwaite for incineration is more cost-effective, noted Councilor Leroy Walker. The $227,000 will be re-appropriated to a fund to be paid for a shift to automated trash collection service.

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Meantime, recycling advocates argued that it is very difficult to restart the curbside service program again, once it is eliminated. Also, incineration of materials will lead to release of pollutants, they noted.

Casella- the city’s waste services contractor aims to have all the municipalities shift to an automated trash collection system, whereby bins could be automatically picked up and dumped. Furthermore, the City has proposed plans to expand its access to composting programs.