A greener Manchester?
Friday, October 17, 2008 at 4:03PM Boasting stores like Real Green Goods and Concord Cooperative Market, New Hampshire’s capital city might appear to be a fairly green city. Certainly greener than Manchester, I thought.
But I was wrong.
According to a recent report from the state Department of Environmental Services, Concord’s recycling rate is a dismal 3.8 percent. Manchester, on the other hand, came in at 24.2 percent. The state average is 20.4 percent.
Who knew Manchester had a semi-green side?
Manchester has a lot going for it, but I certainly wouldn’t consider it a beacon of green. Perhaps I’m missing something, but about the only pro-active green activity I’ve been able to see is weekly curbside recycling pick up. And unfortunately, the city's recycling program is not exactly user-friendly.
For starters, Manchester’s recycling program doesn’t accept everything stamped with the trusty recycling symbol:
Indeed, plastic recycling is limited to those containers marked 1 and 2 (milk jugs, soda bottles and the like). The rest of the plastic family — numbers 3-7 — things like yogurt cups — must go in the garbage. Likewise, Manchester’s recycling program is double stream, meaning it’s up to the individual to separate paper and cardboard from plastic, glass and metal. It’s not a huge deal, of course, but it can be a hassle, especially to those not already motivated to recycle.
Back in 2006, it looked like the city’s recycling program was soon going to see a major improvement. That’s when Corcoran Environmental Services of Kennebunk, Me., was awarded a 50-year contract to handle the city’s waste disposal. As part of the deal Corcoran is obligated to build a Materials Recovery Facility — basically a big recyclables sorting plant — that would accept single stream recycling, including all plastics, 1-7.
The deal entitles the city to a portion of the revenue Corcoran makes from the sale of the recycled materials it collects. The city would also receive additional property tax dollars, host fees for materials received from other towns, and would save $1.3 million annually in tipping fees. And that’s not to mention the creation of some 110 jobs. All in all, a pretty good deal.
Alas, the Materials Recovery Facility has yet to be built. Due to NIMBY concerns from residents on Dunbarton Road — the original proposed site of the facility — the project has floundered. However, in July of this year Corcoran signed a long-term lease for a space in an industrial park off of Gay Street in the south end. The company now anticipates the facility will be fully operational sometime during the summer of 2009.
Maybe things are looking up.
Reader Comments (1)
When you compare the percentage of recycling between Concord and Manchester, are the results based on population?
And Dunbarton road will fight to the end... and to be honest I cannot blame them, the trucks that have gone through that road over the years for the sand pit... well they destroyed that road and the residents dealt with it... but a new development, like the one proposed will create even more traffic. Why not create something of the sort near the airport... a place where sound levels do not mater nor does the site of recyclables.