Unalaska, AK – The Unalaska City Council voted to fund the first step towards a new recycling program for the community at its meeting on Friday.

The council voted 5-1 in favor of a budget amendment that would pay for a grant writer/program developer for the program, which would be under the direction of the Qawalangin Tribe. That job, which will be funded to the tune of $60,000, would involve coming up with a more precise picture of what the recycling program would look like, and finding funding for the program.

Given the cost of moving materials off the island, the city considers it unlikely that any recycling program in Unalaska would pay for itself immediately, if at all.

The tribe's previous recycling program fell apart in 2002 because of lapses in the tribe's accounting. Citing this history, council member Rocky Caldero expressed misgivings about the new proposal at Friday's meeting, although he ultimately voted in favor of the amendment. Other council members, noting that the tribe is under different leadership now than it was in 2002, said this didn't concern them.

Mayor Shirley Marquardt said today that the $60,000 would come with the expectation not only of finding sources for funding the program, but also laying out the program in more detail than the tribe has done so far.

"Writing a couple of startup grants is not a full-year, $60,000-a-year job," Marquardt said. "However, designing a sustainable program that fits this community's needs, now there's the challenge."

The council also amended the budget to include funding for a proposed bathroom construction project at the small boat harbor.