NASHUA — The city’s former mayor is hoping to expand Nashua’s recycling program and decrease the amount of waste entering the local landfill.

James Donchess, now an alderman-at-large, has drafted a resolution that — if approved — would form a committee to investigate the possibility of providing recycling collection stations at all of the apartment and condominium complexes in Nashua.

“Over time, I have talked to a number of people from apartments and condos who would like to have recycling more available at their residences,” Donchess said. “If there was a single (recycling) point at these locations, the city could go periodically and pick up recycling, and it would probably generate a lot more recyclables.”

While the city currently provides curbside trash and recycling pickup, it does not apply to most condominium and apartment units throughout Nashua, according to Donchess.

He would like to have representatives from various multi-unit housing complexes active on the committee, making it a citywide project.

Sally Hyland, recycling coordinator for the city, said recently that Nashua residents recycle an average of about 5,000 tons annually.

“Trash is a costly operation,” Hyland said during a Household Hazardous Waste Collection event earlier this year.

Donchess echoed her sentiments, saying last week that the Four Hills Landfill on West Hollis Street is a very valuable asset to Nashua because it is much less expensive to dispose of garbage at a local site rather than paying to have it hauled it elsewhere.

“For every material that we can take out of the waste stream through recycling, it will save the city in long-term costs,” he added.

Furthermore, because Nashua has single-stream recycling, it would be relatively easy for apartment and condominium residents to throw their recyclables into one large bin or Dumpster, according to Donchess. He said it should not be too difficult for city workers to pick up those containers in addition to the regular curbside recycling.

His resolution will be presented to the Board of Aldermen Tuesday. Donchess is asking that a five-member committee — comprised of three aldermen and two condo or apartment residents — be formed to determine the cost of his proposal and whether it would be beneficial.

“We really need to determine the costs associated with this,” explained Donchess, predicting that a study could take about three to six months to complete before a recommendation is made.

khoughton@newstote.com