Gene Hejmanowski knows when they?re sleeping, and he?s sifting through their garbage.
If it contains recyclable materials, the trash doesn?t get picked up; and if the recycle bin contains garbage, it?ll end up on the doorstep, in a black bag. You could call Hejmanowski the recycle police, formally known as the environmental director in Penn Township, Hanover, Pa.
He came to Carroll Tuesday night to tell local officials how to get more people to recycle in a county whose landfill is overflowing, forcing officials to ship 95 percent of its trash to Virginia landfills.
“When you put it out front for pickup, it?s no longer yours,” Hejmanowski says. “It?s mine.”
The township charges residents $3 for a bag to fill with a maximum of 45 pounds of garbage. The more garbage a home has, the more bags are needed. That way, residents will not throw away what can be recycled, Hejmanowski says.
He said he was impressed with the reaction he received from Carroll County.
Charles County, Montgomery County and Aberdeen already practice versions of the program, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
In the 15 years Hejmanowski?s been changing the recycling world, the population in Hanover has nearly doubled. But the number of tons of garbage has decreased from 3,900 tons to 2,800 tons a year. That costs $7,700 less, he said.
Westminster resident Rekah Orenstein wanted Hejmanowski to come talk with the City Council.
“I see very little attention to recycling,” she said. “I?ve seen a lot of what I think is illegal dumping ? more trash than I ever thought some people could put out.”
The environmental council will next make a recommendation to the county commissioners, who then will make a decision.
County Commissioner Michael Zimmer said he would have to wait for the council?s recommendation but “would have to lean against” the program.
He said he did not want to over-regulate garbage in the county.
Carroll recently decided residents don?t have to separate paper from plastic and glass recyclables, as in most other counties.
Hejamnowski said his program is self-sufficient and not funded by taxpayers.
“Why would anyone be so stupid to throw it in a bag when you can throw it in a recycling bin, and not have to pay for the bag?” Hejmanowski asked.
