Now that Lafayette plans to buy new trash bins for residents, city officials are trying to figure out how to squeeze as much profit from the venture as possible.
The current small, blue recycling bins will be replaced with larger toters, like those used for garbage. The city will also be decrease the size of garbage toters from 96 to 64 gallons. Mayor Tony Roswarski (D) says he would like to sell the old bins if he can.
“If there is a market out there, if there would be another city that’s not as far along as we are, and they would purchase those blue bins off of us, or some other business or company that redoes stuff with recycling and turns those plastics into some other product, and they were actually willing to pay us for them, then I will be collecting them and generating that revenue for the city to put back into our program,” Roswarski says.
The city hopes to pay for 91-percent of the $1.3 million project through advertisements placed on the new toter lids. Citizens who want to keep their small bins can do so by making arrangements with the city.