Video: West Point Revamps Recycling Efforts

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WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) — Leaders in one Northeast Mississippi community hope a small investment by the state will mean a big change in lifestyles. Organizers hope getting children and parents involved together may kick-start a community effort to get greener.

West Point started a recycling program three years ago. But when interest started to wane, a recycling committee started looking for new ideas and new ways to promote an old idea.

The result is a revamped effort that focuses on curbside recycling.

“Made some decisions about how to grow it and so the main decision was to try to grow the number of people who are participating in the curbside, because we have a ton of people doing the drop off. It saves money by us not putting things in the landfill, it helps the environment,” said Melanie Busby, organizer of West Point’s recycling group.

Previously, residents had to pay for curbside recycling. Now, a one-time $60 fee pays for a large recycling cart. A $25,000 grant from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is paying for the effort.

Busby  says it is a way to cut costs all around.

“The cost of a garbage can at Wal-Mart would be similar to the cost of the garbage can that they’ll pay for at city hall and we’ll deliver it to your house,” said Busby.

The city still has a successful centralized recycling drop off site. The grant will help expand education programs in schools and offer some creative contests for students.

“To just kind of draw some attention to the recycling program and we put info on the back, so younger kids did a coloring contest and there was info about recycling on the back and the middle school age kids did an art contest and then the older kids did a public service announcement,” Busby explained.

The goal is to get kids to remind their parents about recycling and generate a lifestyle change for potential future recyclers.

“That is what we want to happen is that if they grow up recycling, that they will recycle forever.”

So far, 87 households have signed up for the curbside program.

Recycling bins can be purchased at West Point’s City Hall.