TOWN OF ALDERSON POST OFFICE BOX 179 CITY BUILDING—202 SOUTH MONROE STREET ALDERSON, WEST VIRGINIA 24910 TELEPHONE (304) 445-2916 NEWS RELEASE - 8-13-2019

Contact:  Mayor Travis Copenhaver 304-445-2916 / Margaret Hambrick 304-646-2439

Alderson’s Recycling Program Many   years   ago,   Brian   Derouen   took   on   the   challenge   of   being   our   recycling   coordinator.   What   that   really meant   was   he   was   the   only   person   willing   to   put   a   lot   of   time   and   work   into   sorting   irresponsible   deposits by people that don’t pay attention to signage and contacting the company to haul the bins. Brian   has   been   assisted   by   Kevin   Johnson   in   this   task   as   well.   These   two   individuals   alone   have   been   the faces   of   our   recycling   program. They   or   town   staff   have   emptied   the   cardboard   trailer   when   it   gets   taken   to Ronceverte. The   town   does   not   own   a   roll   off   truck   necessary   to   transport   the   large   bins   to   the   recycling   center. Greenbrier   Valley   Solid   Waste   is   responsible   for   the   transportation.   The   town   owns   one   vehicle   for recycling (a used truck to pull the cardboard trailer) one large roll off bin, and the cardboard trailer. Brian   and   Kevin   have   went   above   and   beyond   as   volunteers   to   keep   this   project   alive.   However,   they   have reached   a   point   that   the   time   they   were   once   able   to   commit   has   decreased   and   they   feel   our   program   is suffering as a result. Many   of   you   have   complained   over   the   past   week   about   the   bins   being   full   or   locked   and   the   bags   of   stuff outside   them.   Brian   was   out   of   town.   There   is   not   enough   revenue   for   us   to   pay   someone   to   do   curbside pickup or man the dumpsters. If   our   residents   wish   to   continue   recycling,   I   am   asking   for   some   volunteers   who   have   a   passion   for recycling to contact me so I can get Brian together with them to help keep the project going. Otherwise,   we   will   ask   for   the   one   dumpster   that   is   not   ours   to   be   removed   from   town   and   store   what property the town owns until there is a better plan in place for volunteers or staff. Thank   you   for   your   attention   to   this   matter.   It   will   be   placed   on   the   September   12,   2019   council   agenda   to decide the fate of our program.