Lehi City News
Lehi residents need a lesson in proper recycling
City Council members hear presentations on waste management, bike park, and trail projects.
In Pre-Council meeting, Lehi City Council members heard a presentation by Blake Leonelli of Waste Management. He said Lehi residents don’t fully understand the recycling process. “Lehi has 14,349 households using Waste Management. They recycled 6,107 tons of which 11.72 % could actually be sold.” He continued that contamination of recycled products is gumming up the system. “We have received a car engine, a kitchen sink, and even a python. Citizens need to wash out plastic containers and not throw out pizza boxes with food on them. Plastic bags are also not recyclable,” he continued.
He said China is putting a ban on some materials and limiting what they will take. He said China does not want to become the world’s landfill. “We need to educate residents about recycling. It is not going away and if in doubt, throw it out.”
“We would encourage cities to reach out to citizens with social media and flyers to instruct them on rules of recycling. Some cities have brought costs down by a good public education program,” Leonelli said.
Mayor Johnson asked the City Sustainability Team to think of ways to promote a public education plan for recycling.
In a very well-conceived and presented power point, Cameron Spencer, a youthful mountain biker, presented a plan to the City Council to build a bike park in Traverse Mountain. He said there are two parcels of land owned by the city at the north end of Traverse Mountain Blvd. that would make a good bike park. He presented a computer-generated plan for the park. He continued that the benefits are many. “There would be increased tourism and money generated by tourists. A bike park would be a benefit for the health of the citizens and it would increase property values.” He also presented a plan for financing the park.
Councilmember Southwick congratulated Spencer, “You have really done your homework.”
The final presentation was by Monique Robbins, the mountain biking coach at Skyridge High School. “We need trails for our youth,” she said. “We constructed the Sensei Trail last year for $85,000. We would like to develop additional trails.” Robbins said she would like to apply for an additional grant this year and the city needs to provide matching money. She proposed a $42,000 match for the next trail.
Mayor Johnson said Lehi City has hired Creative Trails LLC to prepare a master plan for Lehi City trails.
