MURRAY — Residents could have more green and blue (containers) in their lives.
The City Council has decided to consider a curbside recycling program, despite the probability that such a program would create a new fee for Murray residents. Council members have repeatedly fought any increases in the money residents pay for services, whether it's electricity, cell-phone use or trash removal.
In this case, the council has decided to consider a curbside recycling program because a recent Dan Jones poll showed that residents want to recycle. According to the poll, 77 percent of residents favored curbside recycling, and 74 percent favored the program even if they had to pay as much as $3.50 a month.
"I can support this, because of the survey," Councilman John Rush said. "As much as I do not support passing costs on to residents, the survey is clear."
How to implement the program and how to pay for it still needs to be resolved, although Tuesday night the council did approve a resolution to solicit bids from recycling companies for the program. The city will also seek input from cities that have curbside recycling programs or have canceled theirs.
Proponents of recycling often cite a rapidly increasing loss of landfill space as a primary reason for municipal recycling programs, and some estimates have the Trans-Jordan Cities Landfill completely filled within 20 years. Rush cautioned against using those figures to justify recycling and suggested that they instead focus on the general benefits of a curbside program.
"We need to sell the idea as socially conscious because it's good for the environment," he said. "We shouldn't scare them into this because we're telling them we're running out of space."
Some council members questioned the cost estimates and wondered if residents would support it if costs escalated. For example, Councilman John Christensen said there could be a number of unexpected costs, such as the additional labor needed to sort the recycling. In some cities, he said he has heard of officers hired specifically to ticket people who do not put the right items together.
"I'm sure the police chief would love to have another cop on staff, just so they could sort through trash," he said.
Mayor Dan Snarr said that he thought most people would support a curbside program, especially those with children. Murray schoolchildren are taught about the benefits of recycling, but the city does not follow its own advice. Adopting a curbside program, he said, would not only help the environment, it would set a good example.
"We're teaching our children things that our older citizens do not endorse," he said. "These kids come home with what they're taught about recycling, but they don't see it happening."
E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com