Chattanooga has expanded its curbside recycling program to include food packaging items.
Department of Public Works Administrator Justin Holland, joined by key partners in the city's recycling efforts, announced the change this morning at the Public Works Office.
"We've been able to do some really cool stuff with our program," Holland said. "This just expands what we do now. Our citizens really appreciate the opportunity to make curbside recycling more efficient, more effective and more convenient, which always the biggest hurdle to getting citizens to recycle."
Jeanette Eigelsbach, director of Scenic Cities Beautiful demonstrated how to prepare items such as pizza boxes, plastic salad takeout containers, paper plates and light card bakery box for the big blue recycling bins. It comes down to lightly washing them or removing chunks of food before tossing them in.
"We encourage all residents who are preparing their recycling for curbside pickup to make sure that the items are clean and free of food waste and liquid," Eigelsbach said.
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @pleach_tfp.