Cans, glass, bottles, papers, Christmas wrapping paper, gift boxes -- most of what people throw in their trash could be recycled, said Susan Carmichael, director of the Montgomery Clean City Commission and the city's recycling division.
Carmichael said about 70 percent of people's waste could be kept out of the garbage.
"It's an excellent service provided to the citizens at no extra charge to them, saves landfill space and it is a very simple process," she said.
Carmichael said people can throw the recyclable items in an orange bag provided by the city and place them along the street to be picked up by city crews.
After the glass, bottles, cans and paper, Carmichael said there is little left in the trash except for food waste and some of that can be tossed in the garbage disposal. And she said food waste benefits gardens or compost piles.
Mayor Bobby Bright said the recycling program is valuable to the city and its residents, and hopes it can be expanded in the future. He said the recycling helps the environment and extends the life of the landfill.
"Montgomery is fortunate to own and operate its own landfill," Bright said. "This allows the city to hold down the costs our citizens pay for trash and garbage collection. Every time an object is recycled, instead of taken to our landfill, we help preserve this valuable resource."
Carmichael said new people in the community and even some of those who have been in the community for years are uncertain what all can go in the bag. She said some current users only throw away newspapers.
"Many of the people who have been recycling for a long time don't know all the products that we take," she said.
Carmichael said she does not have a large family, but only needs to take her green trash can out to be picked up every two weeks.
City sanitation crews pick up the orange bags on one of the person's trash pickup days. The bags are delivered to McInnis Recycling Center, where employees sort the materials and they are shipped to various markets to be made into recycled materials.
Carmichael said about 40 percent of people use the recycling programs. She said some neighborhoods have 90 percent participation.
The city started the recycling program in 1989 as a pilot and neighborhoods were added for the next two years, she said.
Carmichael said some people are in need of more bags when they are moving in or out of a home. She also encouraged people to call if the city fails to pick up the recycling on the scheduled day.
"The more people recycling, the better the service will be," Carmichael said. "Sanitation department funds are used to run crews to provide the service to the citizens. I think they should take advantage of it. They are lucky to be able to have a curbside program."
She said many smaller communities do not have curbside programs and people use drop-off sites. People can take recyclables directly to McInnis, which is at 4341 Norman Bridge Road.
The service is provided to people who pay a water bill or sanitation fee and not at apartment complexes, Carmichael said. She said those people still can recycle.
