The new revised recycling calendar the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities will be mailing to its customers indicating the new single commodity recycling that will go into effect Sept. 1, if the board approves the change at its August meeting. Submitted photo

The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities will implement single commodity recycling this year.

David Leathers, BPU general manager, announced the decision during the BPU’s monthly board meeting Monday. The change will officially be voted on by the board at its next meeting Monday, Aug. 26, and, if passed, the change will go into effect Sept. 1. He said the BPU staff will work on relaying the message to its customers during the next six weeks, including mailing a new recycling calendar for the last four months of the year.

The change will mean customers will no longer be able to combine paper and cardboard and plastic and metal into one recycling bin. The new calendar will now have five different colors to determine the item that will be recycled during the week instead of just three colors.

Last month, Leathers told the board the possible single commodity recycling change could be happening. He discussed the recycling challenges the city-owned utility company has been facing, which has been occurring worldwide since China in 2018 implemented its new policy that restricts the importation of foreign recyclables. He added that one example of the new recycling challenges the BPU faces is usually paying about $38 a ton to have paper and cardboard taken for recycling during recent months. In May, however, BPU officials paid $88 a ton.

See Tuesday’s edition for more coverage.