One week in, North Augusta's recycling program gets mixed reviews

North Augusta reporter

North Augusta Mayor Briton Williams responded to comments Monday about the city's new recycling program, which started Aug. 14. Williams brought his own blue bin to the Council chambers to show what items can be collected.

The first week of North Augusta’s new recycling program generated mixed reviews.

Some comments were quick dismissals: “waste of taxpayer money,” one person commented. A “good idea” with “[expletive] execution,” commented another.

But most were more nuanced.

“The tote is just awkward and heavy to carry if full,” Jennifer Vrlik commented to the Facebook message board, North Augusta 20/20. “I had to use a cart to get it down the driveway last week. I appreciate being able to recycle again but if the city wants most folks to participate, it has to be easy.”

Kelley Dortch Kryshtalowych said she was happy the city is able to recycle at all again – the old recycling facility burned down almost two years ago in a Thanksgiving Day fire; North Augusta opened its new facility last month.

“I have several bins and I neatly packed mine full of recyclables and had no problems whatsoever taking them to the curb, losing items due to wind, or with pickup,” she said.

At least one person is wistful for a roll cart – or something that might trap the funkier fumes.

“I don't want to put an empty pimento cheese container in a bin in my garage for two weeks,” said Donna Ellington Costello.

North Augusta launched its new recycling program Aug. 14, rolling out a schedule of every-other-week curbside pickup for recycling placed in the 18-gallon bins.

“We understand that not every one of our 25,000 citizens will like this program, they aren’t going to participate in the program, the tote bin won't work for their specific lifestyle – there is no program in any community that’s perfect for everyone,” Mayor Briton Williams said.

Williams asked for a little patience with the program that’s only one week old and, at least at present, also operating five employees short.

“We do not have the manpower to do it each week,” he said. “Our goal is weekly, but we’re not able to do it at this point. I know that doesn't make anyone happy, but it is a reality.”

Numerous people have lamented the end to North Augusta’s old “Blue Bag” program. That program allowed customers to fill up the bag with recyclables and then drop it in their roll carts they used for trash.

That program ended in 2020 in part due to the mounting costs associated with it.

The city was expending between $47,000 and $100,000 annually on the bags and dumping costs. North Augusta also, like other South Carolina cities, began seeing higher operating costs when the state Department of Corrections closed its Labor Camp in 2018. Moreover, the bags themselves were not recyclable.

The city moved to an all-in-one method that allowed customers to dump both their garbage and recycling into a single roll-cart. Under this program, all waste was then tipped mechanically at the old recycling facility where manual assistance was required to recover recyclable materials on the line. City officials said last December that this greatly reduced what could be recovered.

Officials did weigh the option of introducing a recycling roll cart as part of the new program but quickly nixed the idea because of the relatively high cost of the carts.

Projections given in December showed that these carts would have been more than $230,000 initial investment – much of this due to the need for an additional vehicle and driver. This compared to an initial outlay of $110,000 for the bins.

Annual operating costs associated with the carts were also estimated at more than six times that of the blue bins: $158,800 for the carts versus $23,550 for the bins.

Mayor Williams did give residents some tips to make fullest use of the new program.

Cardboard can be left to the side of the bin. The bins might not be picked up the same time as your trash – leave it out there, though, because it will get picked up later that day.

As for what to put in the bins?

“Don’t overthink this,” Williams said, hoisting his own blue bin onto the curved desk shared by City Council and pulling out a Sprite bottle, a newspaper and a Grape Nuts cereal box – each of these accompanied by the phrase, “put it in!”

“If what you have is listed in our main category, put it in the bin,” he said. “And if we’re getting a lot of stuff that the city doesn’t want, we will get something out on social media to tell people to quit using that product.”

Elizabeth Hustad covers politics, government and business for The Post and Courier North Augusta. Follow her on Twitter at @ElizabethHustad.

North Augusta reporter

With Idalia expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the coming hours, here's what Aiken and North Augusta should expect: Read moreTropical Storm Idalia: What to expect in Aiken and North Augusta

North Augusta City Councilwoman and Mayor Pro Tempore Jenafer McCauley was arrested for a DUI Aug. 25. Read moreNorth Augusta City Council member McCauley faces DUI charge

“It’s half about the visit and half about the food, so please don’t come in here in a hurry": Augusta's Dolce Darlin' Bakery pops the popper on 10 years. A mini present to the bakery's customers is that starting Sept. 7, the bakery will be open at 6:30 a.m. instead of 10. Read more'Half about the visit and half about the food': Augusta's Dolce Darlin' Bakery celebrates 10 years

"That’s the weird part about talking about jobs and occupations: we know they exist when we need them and not a moment before. The question is how to train people to fill those jobs": at North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, SCDEW officials break down new state legislation designed to promote labor force participation and attract investment. Read moreState legislation puts focus on workforce as means for attracting continued investment