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Expenses force cutbacks in curbside pickup of recyclables
Carl Orth/SUNCOAST
Accurate Waste donated proceeds from recyclable paper and cardboard from curbside pickup in Trinity during October to the American Cancer Society. From left are Accurate partners Justin Bradsher, Erik Sankey and Steve Serafino.
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Published: November 4, 2009
TRINITY - Accurate Waste executives took it upon themselves to start an experimental recycling program in July 2008, primarily in some newer southern Pasco communities. So far no other trash haulers in Pasco have followed the company's lead.
Accurate Waste tried a pilot project with twice-a-week curbside pickup of blue bags filled with recyclables. The county only requires haulers to collect blue bags once every two weeks.
In addition, the company added curbside pickup for waste paper and cardboard.
The program proved quite popular in some subdivisions such as Plantation Palms, in the Wesley Chapel area, and the Groves and Heritage Springs, in the Trinity area. "Once they start (recycling), they don't stop," Accurate Waste's owner, Steve Serafino, said.
During the first 15 months of the pilot project, Accurate collected 301 tons of paper for recycling.
But the test produced mixed results, so the company in October cut back on the frequency of curbside pickup, Serafino and his partners report. "We elected to continue on with it," Serafino said.
Blue bags now are collected once a week instead of twice a week, the same as curbside pickup for waste paper.
Fewer homes are included now on the routes for curbside paper pickup.
"There's a significant expense," Serafino explains. Ledgers show it can cost about $13,000 a month for the company to pay the crews and operate the trucks for the expanded recycling service.
Accurate brings in 20 to 25 tons of waste paper a month to be sold on the recycling market, Serafino elaborates.
Waste paper prices have varied from almost nothing to $110 a ton, settling at about $45 a ton in recent months.
So at most the company could recoup about $2,750 at peak prices for paper against the $13,000 expense.
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