NATCHEZ — After maintaining the status quo over the summer, community leaders are still searching for a solution to make the area’s curbside recycling project economically feasible.

Approximately 25 percent of residents are participating in the City of Natchez’s curbside recycling program each Wednesday morning. In the county only 500 households in certain subdivisions received recycling bins as part of a test program, but fewer than that actively participate.

Residents in Vidalia no longer have curbside recycling, but even though Concordia Metals discontinued receiving recyclables from local governments, the company will still accept recyclables from individuals.

Leaders have heard the complaints about the program — pick up is too early, Waste Pro is putting recyclables in with the regular garbage, and what if it rains?

Waste Pro Municipal Marketer Doug Atkins said pick up has to be early because the three dedicated recycling trucks are having to travel to Sumrall, which is approximately a five-hour round trip.

Atkins said to ensure pickup, the bins have to be out by 6 a.m. Residents can put recyclables out the evening before, and if rain is a concern, people are welcome to purchase blue bins with lids.

If the truck does miss a pick up and Waste Pro is alerted, Atkins said the company would send out a supervisor pickup truck to gather the materials and put it with the recyclables for transport to Sumrall.

Atkins said recycling bins are not being emptied into the garbage trucks.

“Under no circumstances are we to mix it with the regular garbage,” Atkins said.

The biggest issue for Waste Pro is the trip to Sumrall. Atkins said the company is losing $12,000 a month on transporting the recycling, and is not receiving a penny in rebates.

“It doesn’t matter if we bring in 5 tons or 20 tons, we don’t get any rebates,” he said. “We don’t do it to make profits off of it. We want to do it for the partnership.”

City Planner and Green Alliance Chair Riccardo Giani said the city — which began its recycling program in 2013 — also does not receive any rebates on recyclables due to the contract situation.

To have a sustainable recycling program, Giani said three things have to happen:

-Through educating people, more members of the community need to participate in the program to increase the tonnage of recycling being delivered. In 2015, Waste Pro averaged approximately 10 tons of recyclable materials a week.

-The city has to find a drop-off option closer than Sumrall, as it is too far to be a sustainable solution. Giani said the transit costs Waste Pro too much money, and he doesn’t want the company to be at a disadvantage.

-The current contract does now allow for a tax rebate for the profits of the recycling material, but under the right economic conditions with oil and commodity prices looking to rise, it is possible.

“That is how you have a profitable, economically feasible recycling program,” Giani said. “It is happening all around the country.

“It’s up to the community and leaders.”

Giani said the program is not to the point where the city can project at which input level recycling will not be disadvantageous for the private companies such as Waste Pro.

“Those are the key things we are looking to organize in the future if the program is to go forward,” Giani said.

Once the key data is collected, Giani said the city would need to set up agreements with the hauler and the collection agency to share the cost.

Giani said the average American is producing 4.5 pounds of waste a day. If that number went down, it would be good for not only the environment, but also the economy, he said.

“Recycling, if it is set up properly, can offer an economic incentive to save the material,” Giani said. “You can sell it, create a market for it and create green jobs.

“The alternative is the garbage is put in a landfill and just costs money.”

Some hope is on the horizon come Nov. 29, Giani said. During the Solid Waste Association of North America Mississippi Chapter conference in Natchez, the Community Alliance has organized a meeting to discuss the local recycling program.

“It is an enhanced brainstorming session where we will be polling people from the region to discuss the local recycling programs,” Giani said. “I know (Vidalia Mayor) Buz Craft and (Natchez Mayor) Darryl Grennell will be in attendance at this meeting.”

As an educator and a biologist, Grennell said he believes in recycling and would like to see the curbside program remain.

“I am a recycler,” he said. “Instead of things that can be used again being put in a landfill, I prefer to recycle them for them to be used again.

“For myself, my parents and my siblings, we are programmed now. I purchased my own large bin because the Waste Pro one was too small. You’d be surprised at how much can be reused.”

Recyclable materials accepted in Natchez’s program include dry, clean paper and plastics, metal cans, aluminum cans and plastics No. 1 and No. 2.

Grennell echoed Giani’s concerns about educating more people to participate, the distance to Sumrall and the current low price for recyclable materials in the market.

“(Giani) is going into the schools and educating kids on the importance on recycling,” Grennell said. “In turn, they go home and tell mom and dad, ‘You can’t throw that can away, that needs to be recycled.’”

The only complaints Grennell said he has heard relate to non-pickup, and he said that was due to a truck breaking down.

“Those that do participate are actually pleased to have a recycling program,” Grennell said. “We just need to get more people on board.”

In Vidalia, which has a municipal garbage collection program, curbside pickup stopped due to Concordia Metals’ decision to stop collection from the town, Craft said.

“We had nowhere to drop it off,” Craft said. “We do believe in recycling and want to see it continue.”

Craft said the town has retained its bins and hopes to work out an option. Craft said he’d like to work with leadership in Natchez and Concordia

Metals to create a system that worked for everybody.

“I do believe in recycling,” Craft said. “I believe if everyone contributes, the little things we all do individually will make something big happen if we all take part.

“It can lesson the waste footprint here where we live.”

Craft said he wanted to thank the residents who are interested in recycling and he hopes people will push to revive the program.

“I appreciate those residents who are conscientious enough to think about recycling,” he said. “I encourage them to get in touch with us and let us know what their thoughts are.”

In the county, three subdivisions with high resident densities include part of the program — Beau Pre, Broadmoor and Morgantown. The county also contracts with Waste Pro.

County Administrator Joe Murray said participation is too disappointing to talk about expanding it. Cancelling it is also not being discussed at the moment because the people who do use it want to see the program continued.

“It is at a standstill,” Murray said. “We’ll hang on as long as we can until it starts costing us too much money.”

Board of Supervisors President Mike Lazarus said last he heard participation is about 25 percent. If curbside isn’t able to continue due to a lack of participation, Lazarus said another option is including recycling containers at its convenience stations for interested residents to drop off,

“To go from no recycling at all to curbside was a really big leap for us,” he said.

Lazarus said more people need to participate for the landfill savings to pay for the program. In lieu of a higher participation rate or dropping curbside for convenience stations, Lazarus said another option does exist in cooperation with the city.

When the contract comes up, Lazarus said he’d like to sit down with the city to work out a deal to save both entities money while also offering recycling options.

“Whatever savings we get, we could put into the recycling program,” Lazarus said.

Grennell said he was open to working with the county to save money.

“It could be another good effort in consolidation and working in harmony with the county,” he said. “I am very receptive to working with the board of supervisors for anything that can save money and enhance our programs that we have here.”

Grennell said he would entertain discussion on underwriting Concordia Metals’ losses on recycling, but he was not sure if the board of aldermen would approve it.

“I don’t know if it is cheaper for Waste Pro to continue taking it over to Sumrall,” he said. “We are planning to look at it.”

The city’s contract with Waste Pro comes up at the end of June, but will automatically renew this year if neither party exercises an option to examine it through giving a 90-day notice of cancellation.

Starting in the new year, Grennell said the board plans to discuss garbage collection, but he did not know how the aldermen would vote on potentially rebidding the contract.

While Atkins said he did not know at this time if the higher ups in the company would want to exercise the option in an effort to get a better deal for Waste Pro, Atkins said he was committed to Natchez.

“We want to do whatever is best for the City of Natchez and us, so that we can keep a great partnership,” Atkins said. “We want to pickup the recycling in good faith to the City of Natchez.”