The City of Zanesville has said out with the old and in with the new for 1,000 residents in the city limits that are loyal recyclers.

In October, Public Service Director Jay Bennett informed members of Zanesville City Council that the new blue recycling carts, which will replace the blue plastic bags for some residents, would be disbursed at the beginning of November.

Through a community development grant, the 2019 Community and Litter Grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the City was able to purchase, brand and create educational material about the new carts.

In December 2018 the City announced the application for the $200,000 grant in order to make the carts possible. At that time, the average amount of recyclables recovered from one person equates to roughly 0.14 pounds per day, which is significantly lower than the national average of 1.12 pounds from one person per day, according to the Automated Waste and Recycle Collection Project outline from the City of Zanesville.

• Also read: City applying for $200,000 grant to encourage more residents to recycle

There were 5,000 carts purchased by the City. At the beginning of November, the first 1,000 were set to be distributed to known loyal recyclers within the city.

“Our people know who’s good, faithful recyclers, do a good job with it,” Bennett said. “There’s not a lot of contamination with it (recycling) and things of that nature. So, we’re starting with that first thousand.”

The goal for the Sanitation Department was to distribute the first 1,000 carts first and then distribute the remaining 4,000 on a request basis.

Prior to the introduction of the carts, city residents were using a blue or clear bag system to separate their recyclables from regular trash. The carts are designed to narrow the accepted recycling items while also getting rid of the plastic bags.

While the carts are encouraged for residents who recycle, Bennett said the blue or clear bags of recycling will still be accepted.

Bennett said the items allowed in the carts are slightly more narrow than the items widely accepted in recycling bins due to the recent trends of the recycling market.

The City is encouraging residents to focus on placing items such as aluminum and tin cans, as well as certain numbered plastics in the bins, among other items.

“No plastic, no plastic, no plastic bags,” Bennett emphasized.

Any city residents interested in participating in the recycling cart program can contact the City of Zanesville Sanitation Department at 740-455-0615 to request a cart.

Once the request is made, a representative from the department will set up a meeting time with the resident to drop off the new cart, as well as educational materials about recycling and the logistics of the pick up. The representative will also answer any questions residents may have about the recycling program.