CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Recycling in Charleston is back on Tuesday.
The city is set to resume services for the first time since March after Charleston City Council agreed to a memorandum of understanding with the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority last week.
Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said on Monday’s 580-LIVE on 580-WCHS that recycling has been a hot topic for citizens.
“It’s a call that we get every day in the office. ‘What are we doing about recycling, are we going to recycle, why did we stop recycling,'” she said.
The city had sent recyclables to the solid waste authority before the effects of the coronavirus pandemic going in place in March.
580-WCHS previously reported The solid waste authority shut down that month because of coronavirus-related concerns, leaving Charleston, South Charleston, Beckley and several school systems without a way to dispose of recyclable goods.
On July 1, the city recycling center reopened, with COVID-19 guidelines, but services did not return at that time.
Goodwin said the city asked citizens to keep recyclables, if possible, since that period and wait for the next pick up date. She said that request could create a busy week.
“If we miss you, if you have more than we can possibly handle, we are going to get those calls. We have a team of folks who are going to be doing nothing else but troubleshooting this week to make sure we pick up and extra route or an extra truck or so,” Goodwin said.
580-WCHS previously reported that the waste authority approached city officials about losing $260 per ton, and each partner would have to pay more to cover losses. After negotiations with the solid waste authority’s Board of Governors, both sides agreed to a deal for allowing services to resume while also giving the city the option to shift to other programs.
In the MOU signed, the city is paying $175 per ton rather than the requested $260.
The agreement is through June 30, 2021, when Charleston’s fiscal year ends.