But where are the recycling receptacles downtown when you need to toss that soda pop can or newspaper?

Well, they're on their way, but don't look for them before springtime.

Salt Lake City has had curbside recycling for well over a decade in residential areas. And the idea of keeping newspapers, plastic containers, aluminum cans, and glass bottles and jars out of the landfill has become second nature to many.

In fact, according to Salt Lake City's Web site, the city contracts with Allied Waste to collect recyclables from about 6,800 residences per day, five days a week. That amounts to about 850 tons of stuff recycled each month.

The phrase "Recycle it" is almost as common in some households as the command, "Honey, darn it, take out the garbage."

And that's why it's strange that Salt Lake City hasn't had recycling bins next to garbage cans downtown for pedestrians, said former City Councilman Dave Buhler.

"We had them during the Olympics, but then they went away," Buhler recalled.

Recently, however, the City Council voted unanimously to endorse a proposal from the Anderson administration to allocate $61,821 for ornamental recycling receptacles in pedestrian areas in the downtown business district.

"When this was presented to us, it was like, duh," Buhler said. "Here we are supposed to be this green city and we don't have recycling receptacles downtown. I wish we'd had them for the past eight years."

The City Council asked the administration to study whether pedestrian recycling bins would be useful in other commercial areas, such as 900 East and 900 South in Sugar House.

But don't start looking for recycling bins on downtown sidewalks until March or April, said Rick Graham, director of public services. The ornamental bins must be custom ordered, and it will take several months to get them and station the bins around downtown.

Beyond that, Salt Lake City will launch its "green waste" curbside recycling program this spring, Graham said. Residents who don't want to see their grass clippings and weeds go into the landfill can subscribe to the program for $3.50 per month.

Subscribers will get a beige container to be set out on regular garbage days alongside green trash cans and blue recycling bins.

csmart@sltrib.com

Learn more

* For recycling information in Salt Lake City, visit www.slcgov.com/ publicservices/Streets/recycleinfo.htm.