By Becky Polaski

Staff Writer

Diane Cheatle, who along with her husband Chester, owns Elk Waste Services Inc., addressed City Council at their recent meeting to request that additional curbside recycling containers be ordered. 

Cheatle explained that she had first requested the purchase of additional containers in November but did not believe they were ever ordered. The containers are purchased with grant money and Cheatle noted that there is a waiting list of individuals wanting to receive new containers.

“It is no cost to St. Marys. It is no cost to the taxpayers. It is 100 percent grant money from the state to buy these bins,” Cheatle said. “Why haven’t they been ordered? What is the hold up? There is no reason for it. You can’t run a successful program, that I know you don’t want to run but we’re going to run it because that’s what we’re hired to do. We’ve requested bins over and over and over again. There’s no reason for it.”

According to Cheatle a shipment of between 300 and 400 of the bins was received last summer but all have already been handed out. She requested that an additional 1,000 bins be ordered if there is enough funding available.

The bins are purchased through a reimbursable grant where the City has to spend the money and then apply to be reimbursed.

“We are in desperate need of them because a lot of (the ones residents have) are old and they need replaced,” Cheatle said.