Feature
August
05
Keeping the Parish Green
by Terry Trahan, Jr.
Terrebonne Parish may appear greener these days since Parish President Michel Claudet hopped on the eco-friendly bandwagon and started offering residents recycling options for their trash last August.
“This is something, as a parish, that we need to provide to our citizens,” President Claudet says.
Parish leaders have implemented recycling programs that feature bins placed throughout the community to make recycling easier for residents wanting to live a greener lifestyle by eliminating crowded landfills and fighting global warming.
Providing eco-friendly options to residents isn’t cheap. Tom Bourg, the parish’s utilities director, says the parish spends an estimated cost of $36 per ton on solid waste collection. Each ton of collected recyclables costs $328, nearly 10 times the original figure.
Since August 2009, residents have deposited 317 tons of recyclables into the bins. The parish collects 135,000 tons of solid waste each year. Though the recycled number seems small in comparison, Tom adds that it’s a reflection of weight, not volume.
“We see a fairly steady increase. June and July were our highest months so far,” he says. “While it does seem minuscule from a weight standpoint, the recyclables are generally the lightest products in the waste train.”
In addition to the recycling bins, parish leaders are planning a curbside recycling program that will bring green opportunities to neighborhood streets.
“What we need is a minimum of 10,000 subscribers in a continuous geographic location,” Tom says.
Tom says subscribers will cover the curbside service’s cost, estimated at $3 per month. It’s a different approach from other successful programs in Lafayette and Baton Rouge, where all residents pay a recycling fee.
“The only thing excluded is glass because recycling efforts on glass haven’t worked out as well,” Tom says. “There’s a limited market.”
Plenty opportunities exist for other recyclables like paper, plastic, small metals and cans. And if the numbers don’t lie, recycling programs in Terrebonne Parish can go a long way in building a cleaner, waste-conscious environment.
Want to join the parish’s recycling effort? Look for the green bins and drop off your recyclables at:
- Concord Shopping Center on St. Charles Avenue
- Bayou Cane Fire Department, 6166 W. Main St.
- Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center
- Grand Caillou and Plant Road intersection
- Ward 7 Hall in Chauvin
- American Legion Hall, 602 Legion Ave., Houma
- Southland Mall, between Sears Hardware and JCPenney
