Single Stream Recycling

A state grant will allow the Washington Township (Pa.) Supervisors to purchase a baling machine for the municipal recycling center, which experienced financial losses last year largely due to repairs on the existing baler. The township recently received news that it has been awarded $205,754 from a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recycling development and implementation program. That grant will be used to purchase a new baler and related equipment, Township Manager Mike Christopher said.

Washington County will help promote a private curbside-recycling program to be launched in June by Allied Waste, at which point the county's unmanned recycling drop-off bins will be removed, the Washington County Board of Commissioners decided Tuesday. The five-member commissioners voted 4-0 to support Allied Waste's program. Commissioner John F. Barr did not attend the portion of the meeting after lunch, when recycling was discussed. County Administrator Gregory B. Murray said the increased use of private curbside recycling will allow the county to eliminate its unmanned recycling drop-off boxes.

Washington County officials want to know where residents stand on curbside recycling. Tackling the issue in depth for the first time since the new Board of County Commissioners took office in December, the commissioners decided to schedule a public information meeting to accept comment on the idea of starting a county curbside recycling program. Commissioner Ruth Anne Callaham suggested the meeting, saying she wanted to get a sense of how public opinion breaks down on the issue.

When it comes to residential refuse, the city of Hagerstown wants to do more with less. The Hagerstown City Council lined up Tuesday behind a proposal to increase its recycling services for residents after learning that doing more will cost the city less than what it pays now. The city sought bids on numerous options for trash and recycling this fall, and all but one of the five residential options came in for less than what the city currently...

Some people accustomed to public recycling in Hagerstown have had to change their routines. At the beginning of June, Washington County removed seven large recycling bins from four public parking lots within the city. As a result, bins at several other public places in the county have been used more often. The bins in Hagerstown were considered a drain on the county and a blight for the city, but were convenient for people who regularly used them to recycle plastic, glass and paper products.

Since deciding in January to scale back county recycling to promote use of private curbside pickup, the Washington County Board of Commissioners has faced criticism from both sides of the issue. To some, the solution - a private, opt-out curbside pickup program - did not seem comprehensive or compulsory enough; to others, not voluntary enough. Meanwhile, the decision to restrict access to the county's drop-off recycling bins and to begin charging to use them has led to concerns that frustrated users will stop recycling altogether.

o How bills of local interest fared this session ANNAPOLIS -- With the 2010 Maryland General Assembly session completed, local lawmakers believe their time in Annapolis was successful, but their definitions of success vary. State Sen. Donald F. Munson, R-Washington, saw eight of the 10 bills he filed pass. That was the best passing rate among the eight members of the Washington County delegation. But other legislators gauge their success differently. Del. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, has never believed that the quantity of bills passed defines a legislator's effectiveness.