Many other states are ahead of Utah when it comes to enthusiasm for recycling. We dabble at it here and there, but that's about it.

The issue has burbled to the surface recently in American Fork, where recycling is voluntary but you have to pay extra for the privilege -- $4.50 per month. Not surprisingly, the program now finds itself on the edge of non-viability as the fee dampens community enthusiasm. Currently, only 9 percent of the city's residents are participating in the program, not enough to make it worthwhile for the city's contractor to continue. The city is looking for ways to bolster the program, even tinkering with the idea of making it mandatory. While a city may be able to force compliance, that's not the best way to achieve public support.

American Fork and other cities should look for more positive approaches. Sometimes carrots are better than sticks. And it seems pretty obvious that making people pay for the privilege of recycling is not much of a carrot.

There are a variety of landfills in Utah County, each owned by a city, a special service district (like the one near Elberta), a county government (as in Emery County) or some other entity. Type of waste accepted will vary depending on the dump. But in general they are owned by the public, and it is in the public's interest to fill them up slowly.

This is where recycling comes in. Every ton of waste that is recycled is a ton that doesn't consume landfill space. And hauling costs can be reduced. BYU, for example -- which is a small city in its own right -- has cut its waste hauling bills tremendously by aggressive recycling.

We'd like to see Utah County become a leader within the state. All of our local cities should include a recycling program as an integral part of their waste collection programs. They shouldn't charge extra for it. If residents understand that recycling saves money and that it provides long-term benefits for a growing community, they will be willing to participate.

Some people in our throwaway culture may find it inconvenient to separate recyclable material from their non-recyclable stuff -- plastic in one bin, aluminum cans in another. But experience shows that any inconvenience is minor and short-lived. Recycling quickly becomes second nature to most people. Many cities, including American Fork, even make sorting easier by having all recyclable materials commingled in a single container. In that case, workers at the recycling plant do the final work.

Utah County's population is growing at a tremendous clip. And the growth creates pressure. We're all aware of the vehicle traffic that comes with new residents. We can envision the water they'll consume in their homes and yards.

But it's easy to overlook the garbage they will generate. Lots of it. And it's going to have to go somewhere.

Now some may think that landfills should be no problem in Utah. There's plenty of space to get rid of junk, rightfi Wrong.

Sixty-five percent of Utah's land is owned by the federal or state government -- which automatically puts it off-limits to waste dumping. Consequently, we find dumps being created nearer to cities, attracting the NIMBY (Not-In-My-Back-Yard) crowd like seagulls. Several years ago, Cedar Fort residents unsuccessfully fought tooth-and-nail with the Utah Legislature to stop a landfill from being built near their community.

Everyone needs a dump, it seems, but nobody really wants it, especially if it's upwind.

Several Eastern states, when backed into this corner, implemented mandatory recycling and managed to save what little remained of their landfill space. For them, recycling was almost too late. Once they fill up, disposal becomes more expensive because waste must be shipped to more distant sites.

Utah County mayors would do well to make it easy for people to recycle. Don't hit people's pocketbooks for being good citizens.

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What do you thinkfi

How can we get more people to recyclefi Send your comments to dhpolls@heraldextra.com or call 344-2942. Please leave your name, hometown and phone number with your comments. E-mail comments should not exceed 100 words; voice-mail comments should be no longer than 30 seconds. Anonymous and unverifiable responses will not be published.

The Daily Herald will publish comments on March 4.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A6.

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