NORWALK : Curbside Recycling Program Approved

The City Council has agreed to launch a curbside recycling program in January that will help the city meet 1995 state environmental laws, officials said.

Each single-family home will receive an 18-gallon bin for glass, newsprint, plastic, aluminum and other metals by January. The city will distribute containers to apartments and businesses between January and June. Residents will be asked to group their recyclables in the bins by the type of material.

Cities are required by state law to recycle 25% of their waste by 1995. Norwalk currently recycles about 10% of its trash, said Daniel E. Keen, deputy city manager.

After the recycling program is in place, the city will begin an automated trash collection service in 1996. Each home will be issued a 100-gallon bin but residents will have the option of using 30-gallon or 60-gallon containers. Monthly trash rates will be based on the size of the bin a household uses as an incentive for residents to recycle more of their trash, Keen said. “You would pay based on what you generate,” he said.

Senior citizens and others who may have difficulty pushing the containers can request smaller receptacles at no charge, Keen said.

Monthly trash bills also will drop slightly in January because the city has turned its trash-billing operation over to two private companies, Keen said. Bills for all single-family homes will drop by 44 cents, from $12.45 to $12.01 a month, Keen said. New bills for apartments will be based on the size and number of units in a complex. The bills are sent to building owners.