NATCHEZ — An effort to start a countywide recycling program is in its early stages, and organizers say the community seems primed to get it going.

Interested officials from the City of Natchez and Adams County met with the Green Alliance and representatives from Waste Management last month to discuss the possibility of starting a recycling program. Green Alliance member Steve McNerney said they will meet again early this month.

At the last meeting a representative of the MDEQ explained what kinds of grants and other programs might be available to jump-start a recycling program. Natchez City Engineer David Gardner said grants available through the MDEQ could help offset the initial costs of starting a recycling program, and that’s the kind of information the group is exploring at the moment.

“A lot more people are aware and keen on the importance of going green and the importance of recycling and its effects on our environment,” Gardner said.

Other factors come into play as well, McNerney said.

In the next couple of years both the city and the county will have to rewrite their solid waste plans, and waste removal contracts will also be up for renewal, he said.

“The public knowledge and the public expectations for recycling have changed drastically,” McNerney said.

“Yes, it could possibly create some jobs, but people moving here and visiting here are expecting us to be a real town and a real community, and real towns have a recycling program.”

Andy Yates with Waste Management said the company is fully behind recycling and has been collecting information about recycling options — and how they have been implemented in other areas — for the group.

“We are gathering information for them from other communities doing recycling, giving them options of what is out there,” Yates said. “They, the city and county, will have to make a determination what kind of program they want to install.”

The two major options being looked at for the moment are curbside pickup and having drop-off points around the community, Supervisor Mike Lazarus said.

Gardner said that, should the group decide to go ahead with a recycling program, it would likely start with drop-off points.

“Really, the way I look at it, curbside would be wonderful if you can afford it, but I don’t think with the economy, we are in a position where we can start adding more costs to everybody.”

With drop-off points, community members who want to recycle can, and it gives time to educate others about the benefits of recycling, Gardner said.

“The drop-off would be a lot more suitable for (those who want to recycle), you would probably get a bigger bang for your buck,” he said.

“To get something started I think you need to start on a smaller scale and work your way up to the Cadillac version, which would be curbside.”

Lazarus said he believes recycling programs will eventually be mandated from the state level, and it is best to get started now.

Even if the community doesn’t have all of the equipment needed for a complete recycling program, that doesn’t stop them from starting something in the interim, Lazarus said.

The meetings at this point are just to find out information and see if a common goal can be reached, he said.

“We are just kicking around ideas to see if we can get something going.”