At the board meeting last week, aldermen decided to proceed with at least one citywide survey to gauge residents' interest in participating in the program. "We're not going to make recycling mandatory," said Mayor Dale Verges. "But we are in the fact-finding mode and a survey would give us the answers to some questions we have about the program." The aldermen envision a questionnaire which would be sent to residents sometime next month. A follow-up survey, providing program information and possibly a public meeting on the issue, could also be included, according to aldermen. The second survey would poll public interest in recycling and explain both the benefits of the program as well as the proposed collection system. Board President Jim Struckhoff said he was in favor of a public survey. "It would be hard to make it work if the citizens don't cooperate with the program," said Struckhoff. "I think a survey would let us know the interest level." Struckhoff said he had talked to a number of city residents and "they are not entirely in favor of it." But City Clerk Becky Adams said reactions from customers she has dealt with at city hall were primarily favorable. Last month aldermen heard a proposal from Gary Schneider of Grace Hauling Inc., the city's regular trash collector. Schneider told aldermen his company would provide recycling service for Marthasville residents for a fee of $4 to $5 per month in addition to the monthly refuse collection charge of $8. The monthly charge, however, would likely be higher if the percentage of residents recycling dips below 50 to 60 percent, according to Schneider. "I'm not sure what that cost would be," said Schneider. "It's hard to say if that number (50 percent) would work for me." "We need to determine if there's enough interest to make it work," Verges said. Schneider estimated his company currently collects about 9-11 tons of trash per week in Marthasville. Of that figure, Schneider said "at least 50 percent" would be classified as recyclable materials. Schneider said his company employs an automated "single stream" collection process for recycling which streamlines the old laborious process which originated in the 1980s. "In the early days, residents had a small bin in which they placed recycle items such as plastic, aluminum and newspapers," Schneider explained. "The collector had to hand sort the items as they went into the truck, which was time-consuming. "Today's recycling is faster, more efficient and easier," Schneider added. The former system, according to Schneider, required about 2.5 minutes per household to sort at the collection truck. But now Schneider said a truck can service a single household in about 45 seconds. Schneider's price proposal includes a 95-gallon rollout container which his company would provide to Marthasville residents to handle recyclable products. In the event a citywide survey failed to show enough interest in a full-scale program, Schneider said Grace Hauling would be willing to provide residents with a 30-gallon blue bag to handle many recycled products.