City residents asked opinion on curbside recycling

If Yuma residents haven't already weighed in on whether they would support a curbside recycling program, the city would like to hear from them through a brief survey.

The survey asks city residents to rate their level of support for a proposed curbside recycling program and how much they would be willing to pay if the entire cost is not covered by such factors as the amount collected in the sale of recyclable material and money saved in landfill fees. A third question asks if the person filling out the survey is a resident of the city.

The deadline to complete the survey is Saturday.

“As our citywide effort of surveying the community's needs on recycling is coming to a close on Sept. 15, you still have time to share in this process,” said operations administrator Ricky Rinehart. “We want to hear from people so we can address their concerns upfront. So please participate and take the survey.”

There are three ways to take the survey:

• Online — Residents can go to the city's website at www.yumaaz.gov and click on the survey link in the Hot News section on the home page.

• In person — Fill out a survey card at Yuma City Hall, One City Plaza, and place the completed survey in the box provided there. The cards are available at the desk in the main lobby, the City Services payment counter and the Parks and Recreation counter.

• Via mail — A select number of city water customers are being mailed a survey on the back of their bill. Those who receive them are asked to fill them out and return with their payment.

To criticism that the survey didn't leave space for comments, Rinehart responded that “we tried to keep it as simple as possible so we could determine if there is a true need in the community. Right now we're trying to get a feel from the community whether they want the program.”

To date, he said there have been more than 2,000 online responses and between 800 and 1,000 were received during the Back to School Rodeo. He doesn't have a number for the survey turned in so far at City Hall. However, he expects the city will end up with about 5,000 surveys — “a good sampling of the community.”

City staff will compile the results after the deadline and present the information to the Yuma City Council for a decision on how or if to proceed with the curbside recycling effort.

Rinehart acknowledged the concern expressed that garbage may pile up if it is picked up only once a week, with recycling material collected on the alternate day each week.

“But if people embrace the (recycling) program, I think they will find the majority of their trash is recyclable.”