MILTON — With the upcoming opening of a new Emerald Coast Utilities Authority facility in Pensacola, recycling could return to Milton, according to a city official.
Although an agreement between Santa Rosa County and the city has not been finalized, Public Works Director George Rials anticipates restarting the service in the near future.
HOW IT WOULD WORK
Previously, the city retrieved recyclable items from customers and transported them to the Central Landfill near Bagdad. From there, ECUA transported materials to a recycling facility in Alabama.
“The end-of-the-line facility in Montgomery went bankrupt, and so ECUA and the county have been working on a solution,” Rials said. “The solution they came up with was for the ECUA to come up with their own facility at the Perdido landfill.”
Rials said the ECUA recycling facility is expected to be completed next month.
While county officials and the ECUA sought alternatives, the city notified customers about suspending recycling service. Before suspension, the city had almost 280 customers signed up for recycling. Since the suspension, Rials said around 100 of those customers canceled recycling service.
Once the ECUA recycling facility opens, Rials said the facility will accept recyclable materials from Santa Rosa County as part of an agreement.
Rials hopes Milton can enter an agreement with Santa Rosa County, under which it would process recyclable materials under the county’s umbrella.
“Since we are close, (the city) would take our materials to the landfill put them with Santa Rosa County’s,” Rials said. “Santa Rosa County would turn around and invoice us at their rates.”
‘WE ARE JUST HOPING’
County officials have discussed the agreement, and Rials hopes to receive a response in the near future.
“What we are looking at is $2 per ton for the recyclable materials, $11 per ton in transportation costs, and that is ECUA picking up the material from the Central landfill and taking it to Perdido,” Rials said. “None of that is official, yet.”
In January of 2015, the Milton City Council voted in support of making recycling service available to customers. However, the service hit a roadblock following the closure of the Infinitus Energy Park in Montgomery, Ala.
Despite the suspension of recycling — and not knowing if recycling would resume — Rials said several customers continue to pay the recycling fee in hopes it would return.
“Some have chosen to keep their (recycling) cans and pay their fees, knowing that there might be an alternative that comes back,” he said. “We are just hoping the county is gracious enough to let us participate.”
If city officials decide to restart recycling services, city customers will be notified, Milton Public Information Officer Pamela Holt said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton anticipates reviving recycling service