Unified Action – Curbside Recycling

April 2005

The issue : Las Cruces , which has lagged behind other New Mexico cities in its recycling efforts, has decided to try a second six-month curbside recycling pilot program, as a way of deciding whether to initiate curbside recycling citywide. It is important that this pilot program be a success.

What we are asking : In the previous pilot program, pickup occurred only once a month, plastic and other items were excluded, and residents received very little education about how the system worked. Therefore, we are going to contact city council members and emphasize the following:

Curbside recycling is good for Las Cruces:

• in the long run there will be less use of fossil fuels and non-renewable resources
• the burden on community landfills will be lessened
• residents get to join in a project that is cooperative and larger than ourselves, thus contributing to a sense of community

The Las Cruces curbside recycling pilot program should:

• involve weekly pickups
• pick up everything currently recycled by the City of Las Cruces , Including plastics
• include continuing education, so that citizens understand the importance of the program, and know the specifics of how to use it

People to be contacted:

In this action, we will contact our mayor and city councillor by phone, email, or regular mail to 1) register our support for recycling in Las Cruces , and 2) emphasize the above points about the pilot program. The contact information is:

You can find out your district by looking at your voting card, or calling 647-7428.

Letters can be sent to any of the above at PO Box 2000 , Las Cruces , NM 88004 . A phone call to the above numbers will eventually lead to the councillor’s or mayor’s voicemail, where you can leave a message. By cutting and pasting, an email can be sent to each of the above; it’s better to send each message individually rather than as part of a group mailing.