Next month, Tuscaloosa city environmental service crews are set to resume the curbside collection of recyclable materials.
And this time, officials hope it’s for good.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said Monday that the city’s Environmental Services Department is on track to restore its curbside recycling collections on Nov. 2.
Until then, the city’s 15 recycling drop-off sites will remain an option for the environmentally conscious, as will the manned drop-off locations operated by environmental service crews in different parts of the city each week.
November’s return of curbside recycling will mark the second restart to this service that has been suspended twice – once in early April and again in mid-July – because of the local coronavirus response.
“I am making this decision to reduce the exposure to our public servants and ensure manpower needs for garbage routes,” Maddox said earlier this year.
But now, the latest data from City Hall shows that the city’s Environmental Service Department work staff at 100% with no one out for COVID-19-related reasons, making it easier to restore this service.
“We are definitely excited to get curbside recycling collection started again soon,” said Stacy Vaughn, the city's director of public services, “and are working diligently to make that a reality.”