New Quincy recycling program begins

QUINCY (WGEM) - Changes to the Quincy recycling program started Wednesday. You can now take your recyclables to drop-off sites without having to pay a fee.

People went out to the Hy-Vee drop-off location and tossed out things like paper and plastic.

Roy Casey said he’s conscious about how much trash ends up in the landfill.

“Nice quick and easy,” Casey said. “The landfills are going to eventually fill up. So we need a solution to that and this is. It’s a good feeling to know that your recyclables go toward something positive. They can reuse the materials.”

So he’s happy he now has access to these rows of bins in Quincy, lined up with labels showing you where to dispose of those materials. Like glass, paper, cardboard and plastics.

“They have it set up to where the cardboard and the newspaper containers are back to back so you can go up one ramp put it in one side and turn and put it in the other side,” Casey said.

Public Works Director Jeffrey Conte said recycling has gone down in Quincy, so he hopes to have three options across town, for free, will ramp it up again.

“We tried to put them in easy places for people to get in and out,” Conte said. “We tried to make the sites as easy to use as possible.”

There’s a site at 12th and Harrison, 12th and Locust and a third site still to be approved.

“It’s with a larger firm so it’s taking a little longer to get the corporate approvals,” Conte said.

He said it will have an ADA-accessible ramp, so you don’t have to walk up steps to get rid of your waste.

“Having it at home was a lot more convenient, but I live in this area and I use Hy-Vee as a grocery store, so it’s not going to affect me much,” Maggie Hess said.

Some said it’s quick and convenient; others said it’s a way for them to do their due diligence in helping our planet.

“I’ll just have to remember to have to remember next time to make sure everything is separate before I get here,” Hess said.

Conte said these sites will be open during daylight hours.

They won’t close them at night and will have lights and cameras for security. He discourages you from using them when it’s dark.

Meanwhile, he said anyone can use them, whether you’re a Quincy resident or not. However, businesses cannot.

Conte said you can keep the orange bins if you’d like. If not, they’ll continue curbside pick-up for the rest of the week. So, if you want them to pick up your bin, just put it out and they will grab it.

Meanwhile, if you don’t have a bin but want one, you can buy one for $15. It’s first come, first served.

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