NATCHEZ — Natchez residents know curbside recycling service is suspended for at least the next four months, however many of those residents wonder if curbside recycling will return long term. For now, Ward 3 Alderwoman and city utilities committee chair Sarah Smith insists the answer is, “yes.”

“It will be in the next RFP (request for proposals),” Smith said. “It will absolutely be in the next RFP.”

Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell also reaffirmed his desire for curbside recycling, saying his background of teaching science has made him well aware of the benefits.

But what matters most, he said, even if it means considering drop-off-only recycling, is cost.

“We’re going to have to look at what it’s going to cost the residents and make the best decision for the residents,” Grennell said. “We don’t want a garbage bill to skyrocket for our citizens here in the city of Natchez. We just can’t afford it.”

Smith said the city could consider that alternative, if necessary, but she would also prefer considering other alternatives that allow for curbside pickup without higher rates.

Over the next four months, aldermen are expected to craft a request for proposals that will contain all the specifications desired for the city’s next garbage contract.

The two officials discussed ideas to keep recycling going such as reducing the frequency of pickup, using this opportunity to possibly create a few jobs, and even a mandate requiring residents to recycle.

The question then becomes, what sort of options will city officials seek in their upcoming waste collection and disposal contract?

Once-a-week-pickup

Likely the best way to mitigate the potential of rising garbage rates, Smith said, is weekly pickup, rather than the current twice-weekly method.

“Everywhere I’ve lived over the past 20 years away from Natchez, that’s how it was: once a week,” Smith said. “I had three kids and did it for years. You can do it, and we recycled regularly.”

At one point, Grennell said he had hoped to see residents have the option between weekly or twice-weekly pickup, citing different needs for different families. But Grennell said after discussing the idea with a third-party waste consultant, he learned that option is not feasible for the city.

With that prospect off the table, weekly pickup is Smith’s preference.

She said not only would lower costs result, but also a reduction in road degradation due to cutting the time heavy trucks spend on city roads in half.

Grennell used his experience in county government to relate to this issue of frequency.

“About 10, 12 years ago, the board of supervisors decided to go from twice-a-week pickup to once-a-week pickup — it was chaos,” Grennell said. “Four years later, they preferred it to twice-a-week pickup.”

But the frequency of pickup is far from the only decision officials have to consider.

Regional recycling center?

Smith said the city has an opportunity to “become a regional leader” in recycling.

“We could do a regional recycling center that accepts materials from other communities here, that could maybe employee 12 to 15 people,” Smith said. “Or you can do the transfer station that would be (regional) … I don’t know, there’s just options to look at.

“I just feel like it’s our responsibility to push this forward for future generations.”

But in order to do that Grennell said the onus is on residents to participate.

Recycling requirement?

Grennell said another way to lower the cost of recycling would have nothing to do with what is in the contract and everything to do with residents’ willingness to recycle.

“In order for recycling to really, really work is that the majority of the people need to get on board with it, and that is to participate in it,” Grennell said. “And I’m referring to residents.”

Participating includes more than just the act of recycling, he said.

Sorting becomes extremely important — especially for tricky materials such as glass — to make for optimal recycling in a community.

But at some point, Grennell said the city might have to look at not leaving recycling in the hands of residents.

“I’m going to say it: It’s somewhere down the road, (but) if we’re going to be serious about recycling, it’s going to have to be mandatory.”

As Grennell points out, some cities around the country require residents to recycle, and inadequate sorting could even lead to a fine.

Though Grennell said mandatory recycling is a “down-the-road” consideration, his point stood about the need for citizen participation to make recycling really work in the near future.

What do residents want?

Both Smith and Grennell said they need open to public feedback throughout the RFP process.

Smith said she wants to hear from residents whether they believe once-weekly pickup would suffice.

“I think it would benefit us to maybe have a public forum on once-a-week versus twice-a-week (pickup) just to get the feedback — see how important it is to our folks,” Smith said.

Grennell said the every aspect of the decision should stem from what will benefit residents the most.

“Once these proposals come in, (the board of aldermen is) going to have to figure out, by looking at the numbers, the dollar amounts, and seeing what’s going to work best for the citizens of Natchez,” Grennell said.