EMMITSBURG, Md. – County recycling will be expanding
in Emmitsburg following a 4-1 vote on Feb. 9 by the county
commissioners.
The
Frederick County Board of Commissioners voted to expand
currently offered recycling services at their work session,
increasing services to Emmit Ridge, and adding services
to Brookfield and Pembrook Woods.
Emmit
Ridge is among nine areas currently receiving some county
recycling services, and the Frederick County Division of
Utilities and Solid Waste Management (DUSWM) had recommended
expansion to additional homes. Of the 33 existing homes
in Emmit Ridge, 25 have recycling services.
Brookfield
(50 existing homes with 76 un-built) and Pembrook Woods
(70 existing homes) were among 13 developments identified
by DUSWM as not receiving recycling services, which warrant
them.
The
commissioners approved adding 3,535 homes to the existing
service area at an additional cost of $58,515 for the last
six months of 2006.
DUSWM
based its examination of areas on expansion eligibility
criteria, including:
- Are the areas in question partially serviced?
- Curbside expansion criteria index;
- Have citizens requested the service?
The
DUSWM evaluated 29 specific areas in the county for potential
expansion, 20 of which it recommended, based on the eligibility
criteria.
“We
certainly support the recommendation for expansion. People
have been waiting for that for a long time,” Commissioner
Jan Gardner stated. ”We’ve been hearing…for
years…about curbside expansion,” she noted.
Speaking
on behalf of expansion of services into Emmitsburg at the
meeting were board of commissioners President Christopher
V. Staiger and former Commissioner Dianne L. Walbrecker.
Staiger
told The Dispatch following the meeting in Frederick,
“The town government chose to give up the (recycling)
drop-off center a couple of years ago. Hopefully, the saturation
of the entire Emmitsburg area will help to take some of
the pressure off for recycling.”
The
only local development not included in the recycling expansion
proposal for county fiscal year 2006 was Southgate, on South
Seton Avenue. Staiger said the development was likely excluded
because the number of households does not meet the county’s
criteria. However, he said that Southgate could be reevaluated
for inclusion next year.
