Talk about irony. When I ran for office three years ago, the only issue people mentioned to me when I asked what they would like to see in Waterville was the return of curbside recycling. Really. It was the only issue, and I heard it time and time again.

Fast forward three years. We have a chance to bring back curbside recycling, provide it without the need to sort it, and save more than $330,000 or a half-mil on the tax rate. In order to pay for that convenience, residents pay for a bag or bags to throw away the small amount of trash that isn’t recyclable.

There is no question that the program suffered from a poor rollout, and that there are kinks to be worked out. That, however, doesn’t diminish the fact that Waterville is benefiting from a system used by 142 other towns and cities in Maine that requires residents to pay for what they throw away, whether at the curb or at the dump.

The benefits to Waterville include monetary savings as well as more time for other public works projects throughout the city.

You wouldn’t think that this would be the issue on which some candidates are choosing to run. But then, you wouldn’t think that we needed negative campaigning here in Waterville, either.

I have complete faith in the majority of Waterville voters and am looking forward to having a forward-thinking, positive mayor working with forward-thinking re-elected councilors.

Karen Heck

Waterville

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