Macon-Bibb installs 21 new recycling bins in downtown

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Macon-Bibb got some new treasures to hold its trash over the weekend.

“We just installed 21 more of the downtown recycling containers,” said Macon-Bibb Solid Waste Department Director Kevin Barkley.

Money for the new blue receptacles and black trash cans came from a grant funded through the Downtown Challenge.

“Our goal is to put recycling and new trash cans on all of our downtown streets,” said Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission President Pam Carswell.

Barkley says when it comes to installing new cans and getting rid of the old ones…colors matter.

“(We’re) trying to standardize what everything looks like, so people know when they see a black litter container that’s for their garbage, and when they see a blue container for their bottles and cans they can get those recycled.”

So, it’s out with the old and in with the black and blue. But, Carswell says the driving force behind those colors is green.

“The purpose of recycling is to keep all the unnecessary trash out of our land fill and to be a better steward to our earth,” she said.

They aren’t clean enough to eat off of, but they’re new enough to be treasured by Macon and its eco-friendly advocates for many years to come.

Each trash can costs around $900. Barkley says he hopes the new cans will encourage people to use them during special events and keep trash off the streets.