Eco-friendly recycling carts will yield big benefits

In response to the Sept. 19 letter to the editor “Secret no more: Manatee County will take back unwanted giant recycling carts,” I would like to say that Keep Manatee Beautiful is in full support of the new carted recycling initiative by Manatee County government.

Counties that have adopted similar carted recycling programs have seen an increase of more than 50 percent in recycling participation among their residents. The increase in recycling assists Manatee County with reaching the statewide goal of a 75 percent recycling rate by the year 2020.

An increase in recycling is beneficial for our future generations and provides the landfill with more air space to increase its lifespan.

The footprint of the new, blue rolling cart is slightly larger than two recycling bins stacked atop of each other on a dolly. The county carefully considered cart size before they selected the medium-sized (64 gallon) container to allow for size constraints and ease of use for elderly residents.

Please consider making a conscious effort to use the newly issued carts before just giving up or not recycling.

Gratefully yours,

This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Eco-friendly recycling carts will yield big benefits."