Between 41 and 47 percent of Kinston households recycle. Some of those households will be testing a program to collect recyclables monthly instead of every week.

Public Works Director Scott Stevens’ department will be delivering new recycling containers to households that regularly recycle. The containers will be similar to trash containers the city supplies now except they will be smaller and the color will be brown.

Trash containers hold 95 gallons of refuse. New recycling containers will hold 65 gallons, and will be on wheels. Collection days would be the first and second Mondays of the month.

The new program will depend on whether residents will accept a monthly collection. A date to test the program has not been announced.

One concern is that because the two containers are so similar, some people may throw trash in with recyclables.

The change is expected to save the city money. Four men now ride on the recycling trucks. The new containers would allow automated collections and would require only one person per truck.

Trucks used for recycling are growing old and would need replacing soon, Stevens said, and would cost about $150,000 each. The same trucks that collect garbage on other days could pick up and empty the new containers.

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