An exciting time is dawning for the waste paper collectors in De Wolden. That is now still collected by volunteers from associations and schools, with which they earn an extra pocket money. But the municipality wants to stop this from next year. At the end of this month, the council will decide whether that plan will go ahead.
The sun is shining and the garbage trucks are ready. Every third Saturday of the month, volunteers from primary school IKC de Horst collect the old paper in De Wijk. But they don’t cheer, because it just might be one of the last rides of the year.
“The municipality wants to start working with side loaders in the future, so that volunteers are no longer needed. As a result, not only us, but all other associations and schools in De Wolden are sidelined. The money we earn by collecting the old paper is an important source of income for us,” says Gert Hilbolling, director of the school.
De Wolden has been looking for some time to do the work without volunteers. The costs for collection outside working hours are rising, the municipality says. From 1 January it is the intention that the company PreZero will collect the waste paper itself. It should save the municipality about 80,000 euros on an annual basis. This amount is then used to reduce the waste levy.
A nice gesture, says Hilbolling, but according to him the school could have used the money. “As a school, we do not have large margins in terms of finances. It is precisely because of the contribution of the waste paper that we can ensure that we are a social community. With the money we can, for example, ensure that all children can go on a school trip.”
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