LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The city of Lincoln would begin banning cardboard from its landfill next year under an ordinance expected to be approved by the City Council next month.
If approved, the ordinance would begin banning cardboard in April 2018, the Lincoln Journal Star reported (https://bit.ly/2j7SOCE ).
The move could increase the amount of material recycled in Lincoln by 40 percent, Councilwoman Jane Raybould said.
The cardboard ban is part of the compromises worked out among City Council members and the mayor over the past three weeks.
As part of the plan, the city would add 17 more containers for cardboard at its free recycling sites to handle the increased recycling, said Gene Hanlon, recycling coordinator.
“That will more than double the capacity we currently have, and we hope that is enough to handle the demand,” he said.
Hanlon expects more people will also sign up for curbside recycling at their homes.
The ban would also apply to trash brought to the city landfill from outside the city limits, effectively requiring some people in the county to recycle cardboard.
The ban will not mandate that people recycle, but Lincoln residents will have to either sign up for curbside recycling with a hauler or take their cardboard to the city’s free recycling sites once the ban begins.
It also won’t include any criminal penalties for people who toss cardboard in their garbage bins. Garbage haulers will be required to separate cardboard from other trash at the landfill or pay the city staff to do it.
“No one is going to be policing your trash,” said Councilwoman Leirion Gaylor Baird.
The City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposal Jan. 30 and will likely vote on it Feb. 6.
___
Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.