DANVILLE — The city needs a minimum of 1,200 subscribers to make a curbside recycling program financially feasible.

But so far, only about 360 households have responded to a recycling survey asking about a commitment to paying for the service.

Residents still have a few more days left to fill out the survey — through Friday.

If there isn’t enough interest, aldermen will continue to look at other options next month.

“It’s difficult to predict, as surveys go,” Public Works Director Doug Ahrens said. “People tend to wait to deadline to respond.”

Ahrens added that the curbside recycling program costs include the citizen receiving a 64-gallon container and collection would be a single stream recycling program, where everything goes into one toter.

The collection would be bi-weekly.

If the city mandated all 11,500 solid waste customers pay for a curbside recycling program, it initially would cost residents $2.25 a month.

If there were 2,500 subscribers, the first-year cost would be $5.25 a month; and if there were only 1,200 subscribers, the initial cost would be $10.75 a month.

These are estimated cost breakdowns for the city’s proposed curbside recycling program to take over when the free county recycling program stops Friday due to budget constraints.

The city is asking residents for a five-year commitment due to capital and other costs associated with the program’s start-up.

The survey shows how the monthly cost would increase 4 percent each year.

For example, if there are 1,200 subscribers, the estimated Year 1 monthly cost of $10.75 would increase to $11.25 in the second year, $11.50 in the third year, $12 in the fourth year and $12.50 in the fifth year.

Ahrens said the survey results may give the city different numbers to assign monthly costs to than the given preliminary numbers of 1,200; 1,500; 2,500; or 5,000 subscribers.

Ahrens has estimated that those who recycle could range from 15 to 40 percent of the population.

Initial estimates show it will cost the city about $153,000 annually (for a lower number of subscribers) or $303,000 if everyone subscribed and one truck was needed to be fully dedicated to the program.

The cost includes transportation cost to Champaign-Urbana, fuel, labor, recycling processing fee, advertising, capital costs and landfill dump fee reductions.

FYI

A survey to gauge residents’ interest and commitment to pay more on their solid waste bill for curbside recycling can be found through Friday on the city’s Web site at http://www.cityofdanville.org or can be picked up at: city hall, 17 W. Main St.; Danville Public Library, 319 N. Vermilion St., or the Public Works facility, 1155 E. Voorhees St. To receive a survey in the mail, call the public works department at 431-2382. The surveys will be logged by address.