Casper Restores Electronics Recycling Program Amid Criticism
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — After criticism from residents, the Casper City Council has voted to restore the city's electronic waste recycling program.
The council voted Tuesday to contract to recycle electronic waste rather than start dumping it in a landfill. City staff will prepare a new contract for future approval.
On Feb. 7, the council rejected a contract to renew the recycling program, which is mandated by city law. Council member Chris Walsh said at the time the proposed contract was, “a measure that’s more politically correct than it is necessary for us.”
The council initially declined the revisit the issue, but Mayor Kenyne Humphrey decided to bring the program back up for discussion.
Last week, former council member Steve Cathey said people wanted electronic recycling and were willing to pay a 12-cent increase to their sanitation bills to pay for it.
An electronics waste recycling program does not rely on general funds, and cutting it has nothing to do with balancing the budget, either, Cathey said.
The contract was rejected as a cost-saving measure. It called for the city to spend as much as $57,000 annually to have electronic waste shipped to Denver to be recycled.