Recycling initiative aims to educate, not punish

A recent letter to the editor commented on the township's plan to assign an employee to monitor recycling habits in the community. I understand the writer's concerns and would like to take this opportunity to further explain why we have developed this initiative.

Recycling is the easiest and most direct impact residents can have on their local tax dollars. When a resident recycles, they are helping avoid paying unnecessary landfill tipping fees - currently to the tune of $69.70 a ton - and to generate income that offsets the costs of government. Conversely, when a resident doesn't recycle, they are increasing the amount we all pay in local taxes and depriving all of us of valuable revenues.

To better educate residents about the importance and impact of recycling, we have assigned an employee to monitor recycling habits in Brick Township. The employee will spend part of his day tracking homes that repeatedly fail to recycle.

When a home is identified as one that does not recycle, the employee will provide educational materials to encourage recycling. This initiative is not designed to punish, it is designed to educate and encourage recycling.

In addition to this plan, we have continued the township's aggressive campaign to educate residents about the importance of recycling. I encourage recycling at every opportunity, including speaking engagements. Since 2004, nearly 100,000 pamphlets have been mailed to homes informing residents about recycling. In turn, Brick Township's recycling percentage, according to Ocean County, has risen from 37 percent to 59 percent. This is a tremendous increase, but we can do better, and this new initiative was implemented to help us do better.

Again, I understand the writer's concerns about this new initiative. As an avid recycler, I would hope she understands that we are working to encourage residents to recycle as she does.

Mayor Daniel L. Kelly

Brick