Those who want to use Santa Fe's curbside recycling program no longer will have to play a guessing game about whether it's the right day of the month to put out their bins filled with plastic, aluminum, glass, paper and other goods.

The city will begin weekly recycling pickup for all residential routes Jan. 14, eliminating the biweekly schedule with color-coded routes in favor of a more-consistent program.

"It's proven to be extremely confusing for people — what day they are on or what week they are on. Are they green chile or red chile? So we are going to get rid of all that," said Solid Waste Department Director Bill DeGrande.

DeGrande said the weekly pickup will strain the department at first but needs to happen to make the city's program as successful as possible. Though formal data has not been collected in years, he estimated only half the city's homes use the curbside recycling service. DeGrande said he hopes increasing the frequency of pickup will increase participation.

City resident Kate Whealen put three paper bags full of newspapers next to her recycling bins Wednesday morning. She said weekly pickup should cut down on the piles of paper that seem to multiply around her house.

Although she writes her house's recycling dates on the calendar each month, not having to remember the schedule would be a good thing, Whealen said. "The people on our street do get it confused," she said. "A lot of times, all of us go out there and look to see who else has put stuff out."

As of Jan. 14, city trash customers should place recycling bins on the curb on the same day as their regular refuse collection. Those who don't have a bin can get one by taking a copy of their bill to the Solid Waste Department building, 1142 Siler Road.

Santa Fe's curbside recycling service began in the 1990s, when a private company was providing trash collection for the city. In 1999, the city took over both programs but cut the recycling pickup to every other week.

Last year, the city delivered an average of 275 tons of recyclable goods each month to a materials-recovery facility on Buckman Road west of the city that is operated by a city/county agency. Most materials are baled and sold for reprocessing, although glass is stored on-site for a future project.

The city also is gearing up for expansions of the service for schools and businesses, DeGrande said.

While schools have been participating in a hit-or-miss, on-demand collection program, a pilot project that will begin this month will include weekly recycling pickup at Santa Fe High School, De Vargas Middle School and Chaparral Elementary School.

The city's commercial program has languished over the last decade because of prohibitive costs, but DeGrande said he's planning to ask the City Council to approve an ordinance that would make it more appealing for businesses to use the program starting in the next fiscal year.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.

CURBSIDE RECYCLING

Santa Fe's curbside recycling program is available to all residential trash customers. City guidelines are:

• Use one bin for only glass and another for plastic, aluminum and steel.
• Only plastics with No. 1 or No. 2 stamped on them are accepted. Crush all containers. Only bottles are accepted, not butter or yogurt tubs.
• Paper, including newspaper, office paper, junk mail, magazines and catalogs, should be placed in paper bags next to the bin. Phone books, six-pack containers and cereal boxes cannot be included.
• Remove lids from glass beverage containers of all colors. Don't include light bulbs, broken glass or mirrors.

If you have a question about how to prepare materials or what materials are accepted, contact the city Solid Waste Department at 955-2200.

The Santa Fe Solid Waste Management Agency accepts dropped off residential recyclables free at its Buckman Road Recycling Center and Transfer Station, open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 424-1850.