MOORPARK : Recycling Program Gets Under Way

Moorpark officials kicked off the city’s new recycling program Wednesday, tossing the first load of aluminum cans and plastic milk cartons into re-equipped garbage trucks.

The city’s 6,600 single-family residences will have received their bright green, 34-gallon containers with wheels by the end of next week. The pickup of recyclables will begin April 1.

City residents are encouraged to use these containers for all plastics, newspapers, aluminum cans and glass bottles and jars. Carolyn Greene, recycling coordinator for the city, said everything but the newspapers can be tossed directly into the covered containers and the city’s franchised garbage companies, G.I. Rubbish and Moorpark Disposal, will separate the recyclables by hand.

But Greene asks that cardboard and newspapers be placed on top of the other recyclables so the trash collectors can easily separate them during pickup.

“When the guys come down the street they’re going to pull off all the papers and put them in one bin and then dump the rest” on the other side of the truck, Greene said.

She said other unrecycled garbage should be placed on the curb in the usual trash cans or bags.

The companies, which have refitted more than 10 trucks to include center dividers in the truck beds, conducted tests in the city earlier this year and found that people are more likely to recycle if they do not have to separate plastics and cans themselves, said Michael Smith, chief operating officer for G.I. Rubbish.

Single-family monthly rates will remain at $15.35 for 1991 and include a $1.35 recycling fee. The city will get 4% of all trash fees, generating about $35,000 a year for Moorpark’s program to reduce the city’s waste.