For the South Central Solid Waste Authority's curbside recycling website, click here.

LAS CRUCES - Curbside recycling is on its way in Las Cruces, and that's just fine for Carlene Gibson, a retired bookkeeper.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time," Gibson said. "I'm already recycling as much as I can, and I think I've gotten pretty good at it. Why we weren't doing this a lot sooner is beyond me. Let's get it going; it can't happen soon enough for me."

But René Chavez, a Las Cruces roofer, is more subdued. He's a little concerned about the cost of recycling he'll pay for his family, and admitted he's a little confused about what to recycle.

"To me, it's all been trash," Chavez said. "It didn't matter to me that I put aluminum cans with newspapers boxes, TV dinner trays, whatever. It's going to take some learning to figure it all out. And, what happens if I put recycled stuff in with the regular trash, is there any kind of penalty that goes for that? I just think it's too confusing, and it's going to be that way for a lot of people."

But like it or not, understand it or have to learn about it, curbside recycling is about to become a reality. On Wednesday, the first of 30,000 recycling bins will arrive in Las Cruces. That's sooner than was expected. Just last week, city officials were anticipating the new receptacles wouldn't show up until sometime in mid-March.

"Now,

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they're expected to get here sometime around noon on Wednesday," said Suzanne Michaels, education and public outreach coordinator for the South Central Solid Waste Authority, the agency responsible for handling solid waste and recyclable materials in Las Cruces and Do-a Ana County. "That now means the bins will begin to be rolled out to residential customers the third week of March instead of the fourth. Curbside recycling will still begin in April."

Michaels said the recycling bins will include a label to help residents determine what are and aren't recyclable materials. Unacceptable items for recycling will include: garden hoses, grass, leaves or any other yard waste, textiles or used clothing, styrofoam, pizza boxes, glass, light bulbs, batteries, motor oil bottles, sharp metal objects, and hazardous and medical waste.

"Geez, a lot of it sounds like stuff I'm already throwing out anyway," said Jeff Cranston, a part-time Do-a Ana Community College student. "What am I going to need such a big recycling bin for?"

But Michaels said with every-other-week collection of recyclables, people might be surprised just how much they actually can collect. She also added that city officials are considering some form of pay-as-you-recycle basis, particularly for senior citizens and people who live alone and don't create as much waste or recyclable material.

Diane Baeza, a Las Cruces administrative assistant, said she isn't against recycling but does have concerns about the added $2.69 monthly charge she and her family of four will have to pay for the service.

"I don't mind recycling at all, but it does bother me at least a little that I'm going to have pay to recycle," Baeza said. "That's more than $30 a year, and I think I could put $30 to better use for my family."

But Michaels said the cost of recycling shouldn't really be considered that significant.

"When you consider $2.69 a month, that's less than the cost of a gallon of gas," Michaels said.

Sam Murrillo, a Las Cruces salesman, said he's willing to give recycling a chance.

"Yeah, there's going to be some adjustments, some learning to do and a little extra cost involved," Murrillo said. "But I'm willing to give it a few months to see how it goes. I'm going into this with an open mind. I don't know for sure just how much this is going to change the way I dispose of trash and recycle. Right now, the only recycling I know I'm doing for sure, is saving (aluminum) cans for the cash, and getting rid of newspapers. Everything else will be new to me. I don't know, I just have to take it as it comes."

Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452