GARDINER -- Eight people have joined the effort to establish a citywide recycling plan.

The council this week created a Recycling Advisory Committee that will be led by resident Judith Dorsey.

Mayor Andrew MacLean said Dorsey is Gardiner's representative on a regional recycling study committee formed last year with the help of a state grant.

Nine municipalities are represented on that committee.

"There's a lot of interest and energy in town for recycling. There has been for years," MacLean said. "It was one of the things I heard mention most often when I was campaigning door to door the last time I ran for office."

City Councilor Martha Mentall said it will be difficult to implement a recycling plan, since residents use different private trash haulers.

"Gardiner doesn't have curbside pickup like Augusta does. You have to pay for your own trash pickup," Mentall said. "So really, the city has nothing to do with it. There's no way you could monitor it, and I brought that up at Wednesday's meeting."

Dorsey said the goal of the regional committee is to try to develop strategies for improving recycling among the nine communities that use Hatch Hill landfill in Augusta.

"We're not doing a very good job compared to the rest of the state," she said.

The regional committee is working on the last draft of its final report, with recommendations for improving recycling that will go out to all the communities involved.

The final report will be available in late October, she said.

She said one of the recommendations in that report is for each community to establish a permanent recycling advisory committee.

In addition to Dorsey, Derrick Grant, Deborah Holmes, Karen Montell, Diane Potter, Nancy Rines, Janet Slade and Karen Tucker will serve on the committee.

Dorsey said the duties of the city's advisory committee would include exploring ways to improve recycling on a cooperative, regional basis; assist the council in soliciting public input regarding how best to improve recycling in the city; draft a set of short-term and long-term recommendations for a plan to improve recycling in Gardiner for consideration by the council; and keep residents and businesses informed about the plan and its progress.

She said many of Gardiner's residents are ready for the city to make significant changes regarding recycling.

"We know city councilors are very busy so it seems like a good idea," she said.

"We have a group of people willing to put an effort into helping the City Council come up with a game plan."

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, Ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com