The Town of Unity used to have a building designated as a recycling centre, where residents and businesses brought their recyclables. Recyclables had to be sorted and separated to be dropped off — plastic, milk jugs, milk cartons, cardboard, tin, glass and so on. Sometimes town staff had to do some additional sorting as well as looking after baling and selling or ortherwise disposing of the collected items.
When the building was condemned and had to be torn down, the present bin system, just west of the town’s public works building, was set up. Soon, the number of bins was increased to the current 22, and Loraas Environmental Services Ltd. had to be contracted to come twice a week rather than weekly. Recyclables no longer need to be sorted except for glass which is still handled by the town.
The bin system was always intended to be a temporary measure. Now the question has arisen – does Unity stay with the present system OR build a new recycling depot and manage it themselves OR move to curbside pickup, contracted to Loraas?
One of the problems with the present bin recycling system in Unity is the unsightliness resulting from people leaving garbage in the area.
A public meeting was hosted by Unity town council July 4 and opinions were mixed on the options. The business community, in particular, is very concerned about the increased costs of curbside pickup. Next week, former councillor Erik Hansen will be presenting some facts and figures to town council on a town-managed recycling depot.
No decision has yet been made. If you have an opinion, be sure to let others know. Write a letter to the editor of the Unity-Wilkie Press-Herald, discuss it with your friends, tell a town councillor, ask to make a presentation to the council and/or leave a comment by clicking on reply (at beginning of post) which we will pass on to Mayor Sylvia Maljan.
(Further information on past, present and possible future recycling in the Town of Unity is in the July 15 and July 22 issues of The Press-Herald.)
