FOLEY, Ala — City fathers ended the year 2008 looking for more participation in recycling by Foley residents. Last week, the city council set a public hearing to further discuss the matter, specifically as it relates to a possible grant for cans to be used in recycling.

At the heart of the matter is whether residents are willing to opt for recycling at the expense of one day of household garbage collection. That’s why Councilman Charlie Ebert III is hoping for a good turnout at the public hearing scheduled for March 2 at 5:30 p.m.

“Depending on the feedback from citizens, we could accept the grant if it should be awarded or not,” Ebert said this week.

The $250,000 Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) grant, with no matching funds required by the city, would go toward the purchase of what Ebert calls “full-size recycling cans with wheels,” cans that are very much like the 96-gallon cans currently used in the city for household garbage collection. The cans that could be purchased if the grant is awarded could only be used for recycling.

“We would have to delete one day of household garbage collection to show we are trying to reduce what goes into the landfill,” Ebert said.

In November 2008, Butch Bledsoe, superintendent of the Sanitation Department, said the city’s landfill charges for residential garbage were running between $16,000 and $17,000 a month.

The city pays $30 per ton in landfill charges.

In November 2008, the city, whose recycling program has been in place for approximately two years, collected 29,280 pounds of recyclable material, Bledsoe said this week. In December, that jumped to 59,600 pounds. Last month the total was 55,740 pounds.

Around the first of January, Bledsoe said he ordered a hundred more 18-gallon recyclable containers for use in the city.

Concerning the ADEM grant for the 96-gallon recyclable cans, should that be approved and should city fathers agree to use the grant money for the stated purpose, Foley citizens would have their current “green” can for food and non-recyclable material and a “blue” can for cereal boxes, newspapers, plastic cups and other recyclable material.

Having two cans: That is one of two “drawbacks” Bledsoe sees to the proposed recycling effort, that and sorting the recyclable material from the non-recyclable.

But should the city be able to recycle one-third of the 500 tons of residential household garbage a month that goes into the landfill at a cost of $15,000, the city could save approximately $125,000 a year, Bledsoe said, pointing out that’s no small amount in these tough economic times.

“I don’t see how anybody will lose,” Bledsoe said.

“I’ve probably heard from a handful of people since the last (council) meeting,” Ebert said of the recycling issue. “They seemed to be comfortable with losing one day of household garbage pickup.”

Others, Ebert said, have complained that the household garbage cans are too small now. Those people might not be willing to live with only one day a week of household garbage pickup, and that’s why it’s crucial for the mayor and council to get feedback from the citizenry at the March 2 public hearing, Ebert said.

“It’s a good opportunity for people to learn more about recycling and ask questions about garbage pickup.”

The deadline for the city to apply for the ADEM grant is March 1.