Dunbar citizens wishing to recycle will have to travel a bit farther than the edge of their driveways starting March 1.
Dunbar City Council approved changes to the city's recycling procedures at its meeting Tuesday night. The city is eliminating its curbside pick-up for recycling in a cost-savings maneuver. Citizens will be able to bring recyclables to the city garage located at 2800 Charles Ave. in Dunbar.
"We're not doing away with recycling," Dunbar Mayor Terry Greenlee said. "We're just doing away with the way we do it."
The city's recycling costs have increased tremendously, Greenlee said.
Dunbar pays a Nitro-based recycling company $60,000 annually to pick up its citizens' recyclables, Greenlee said. The city pays another company $16,000 annually to produce the city's recycle bags used during pick-up.
"We're trying to save the city some money - the money that comes into the city is not as good as it used to be," Greenlee said. "Everyone in the state and county - we are all having to do the same thing."
City officials knew about eight months ago that costs were rising to the point where the city would need to cut expenses associated with the recycling program.
Greenlee said the recycling companies are not making as much money on the products forcing those businesses to raise fees on its consumers like Dunbar.
"We don't want to pass that [expense] onto the citizens," Greenlee said. "We will still recycle but in a different way."
The change is estimated to save the city $50,000 to $60,000 annually.
Council also approved the purchase of a new unmarked car for the drug unit.
"This is not coming out of any money from the city," Greenlee said. "This is coming from the bad guys."
The city is using money associated with crimes that the police seized. "We spend [seized money] strictly on the police department - it doesn't go toward our budget or anything like that," Greenlee said. "[The seized money] is used to help the police force."
In other business, council:
n Approved the February 1 meeting minutes
n Approved a $1,585 budget for the March 5 Mardi Gras event
n Welcomed area residents to its Saturday Critter Dinner at the Dunbar Recreational Center. Entry is $5 or canned food donation. The dinner will feature camel, kangaroo, alligator nuggets and more.