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WHITSETT — Lots of residents are taking advantage of the trial period allowing them to drop off recyclables behind Town Hall.

In early October, one week after it began, the town had to ask the waste-collection company to double the number of 96-gallon collection bins to eight and increase collection to biweekly.

“We’re just overflowing,” said Jo Hesson, town clerk. “It’s amazing.”

Town staff added a few trash cans for extra collection so they don’t have to turn away as many people hoping to recycle items.

Republic Services, with whom the town contracts for garbage collection, will collect the recyclables through the end of December without charge so the town can gauge what type of recycling program to establish. A state law banning certain recyclable items from landfills went into effect Oct. 1.

Town Administrator Gary Deal said if the town decides to make Town Hall a permanent drop-off site and more bins would be required, he wouldn’t want to keep adding the 96-gallon bins.

“It’s not the best-looking thing,” he said. “I would probably want to go to some kind of a larger bin.”
 

One resident suggested that the town amend its contract with Republic Services so that during one week each month only recyclables are collected, instead of garbage. Deal said that arrangement probably would work well for most people, but some households produce as much as three or four bins of garbage a week. Also, people may forget to put out their recycling.
 

“It becomes an overflow issue,” he said.
 

People who live outside of unincorporated towns in eastern Guilford County have no curb-side pickup for recycling and no local drop-off site, Deal said, so Whitsett may be able to collaborate somehow with the county.
 

“This thing could grow even more,” he said. “If we had a good site, it’ll be good to be able to partner with Guilford County.”
 

Deal said the town is thankful for residents’ participation in recycling and wants their comments and suggestions. Call Town Hall at 449-3380.
 

“We apologize if the containers are full,” Deal said. The best time to find room in the bins is Monday and Thursday evenings.

Contact Jamie Kennedy Jones at 449-4610 or jamie.kennedy@ news-record.com