setting an example in green-speak
by jennifer hetrick
douglass township in montgomery county has a recycling program beaming with such success that its coordinator, andrew duncan, has had municipal officials from new york, maryland, and florida phoning him to ask just how the admirable setup works.
in comparison to all other townships and boroughs in montgomery county, douglass township’s recycling rate is the highest at 45 per cent, confirmed the county’s recycling coordinator, chris kaasmann, who is new to the position.
with 61 other municipalities in montgomery county, this easily puts douglass township in a league of its own in terms of giving back to the environment and caring for it well, thus setting an example worth mirroring by other townships and boroughs in the area and more obviously across the state of pennsylvania and beyond.
before becoming the township’s solid waste and recycling coordinator in 2005, duncan served as a member of the highway crew.
in 1991, the pay-per-bag program was introduced to residents, with the cost then being $2.00 each. by 2004, residents saw the first-ever increase to this rate, with bags rising in price to $2.20 each.
the pay-per-bag approach encourages residents and business owners to be selective about their view of what is considered trash and what is capable of being recycled or composted, hence returned to the ground.
by default of its structure and intentions to benefit all members of the community and land, the way of the pay-per-bag has positively shaped a more conscientious nature about the topic of supposed garbage—something often largely taken for granted by those who toss bag after bag into their weekly emptied trash cans on wheels.
a number of businesses sell the township’s official trash bags, aside from them being available in the municipal building.
duncan explained that his predecessor, clem serowski, designed the recycling program into what it is today, which thankfully for all involved parties, means it’s basically self-sufficient.
back in 1996, the township added its now well-utilized recycling center which today hosts a wide variety of forms of recycling and disposal options for different items including aluminum, glass, plastic, paper, cardboard, leaf and yard debris, empty propane tanks, electronics, scrap metals, clothing, american flags, and more.
some larger home appliances like refrigerators, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers are accepted for a fee.
the facility even offers leaf compost and mulch for free to residents after it’s shredded from the brush pile of the wood dropped off throughout a season, totaling to about 2,500 cubic yards altogether.
with the pay-per-bag program well-favored by most long-time residents, duncan said some nearby boroughs practicing similar efforts with trash disposal are pennsburg, red hill, and east greenville.
more than half of the township’s population is of senior citizen age, duncan noted.
“with them being on fixed incomes, they’re only throwing a bag out every week or every other week,” duncan said. “so they’re only paying about $100.00 a year for trash—they really like that.”
trash bags are picked up at residents’ curbsides weekly while recyclables are picked up every two weeks. duncan hears from residents on a daily basis concerning their responses to the program.
“ninety per cent of the people are very happy with the bag program in general because they really only pay for what they throw away,” duncan said.
in multi-unit housing, the township dictates that building owners are responsible for trash disposal and recycling options, but the regulation and implementation of these services is checked by township officials annually.
several years ago, the recycling program began taking advantage of pennsylvania department of environmental protection grants to procure vehicles and equipment, totaling $309,000.00 toward the purchases.
the township published a spring & summer 2010 newsletter about the recycling program’s continued environmental excellence and value to the community, with go green ! gleaming as its title. in the newsletter which totals 10 pages, resource information for all the program’s recycling and disposal options for residents are listed, and duncan pointed out that even today, some people do not realize all the free or low-cost choices they have for making trash to treasure-esque efforts.
duncan’s latest project is putting together a roadside clean-up program to echo the approach of the state’s adopt a highway program. he is looking to kick-start it at the beginning of next year, reeling in help from residents and business owners alike to get the stretches of land and space by roadways clean and looking nice for those who live here as well as for those who happen to be passing through the area.
to learn more about the recycling program, visit www.douglasstownship.org.
