The city has begun a pilot recycling program at the public works building on Hinson Street to gage interest and participation amongst the public.

A new container is on the way.

The program began Monday and came about after recycling containers were taken from county convenience sites now that the county has curbside recycling under its new contract with Unity, Roanoke Rapids Public Works Director Larry Chalker said today.

The county notified the city of this, Chalker said. “We knew this was coming. We’ve had talks with different providers.”

(Items accepted include aluminum cans, steel cans, plastic, paper, glass and cardboard)

Waste Industries provided the recycling container — a new one is on the way — and the city pulled the recycling sign used under an older program from storage and is using that to instruct the public on what materials are accepted, Chalker said.

As the pilot program begins, the city continues to study curbside recycling. “We want to see what the best route is for us,” Chalker said.

The city’s pilot program is simply a single storage system in which recyclables are comingled and sorted after collection by Waste Industries.

The public will have 24-hour access to the site, according to a press release submitted by the city Monday.