AUBURN – City officials hope to boost recycling collections for at least one week next month before they consider expansions to the city’s program.

“We have a pretty good program right now, for a voluntary program,” said Sid Hazelton, Auburn’s assistant public works director. A City Council-created committee has been meeting since late September trying to come up with ways to increase curbside recycling.

Committee members are scheduled to meet with the City Council on Nov. 5 and are urging as many people as possible to recycle during the Maine Recycles Week, Nov. 8-15. That will help set a baseline measurement for future recycling programs.

“There are a lot of good ideas going around, and we’re just at the stage now where we’re taking them all in,” Hazelton said. “We want to get more and more people involved in the process.”

The effort began after a series of meetings in each ward over the summer.

“One of the themes that emerged from that is that people wanted to see a better recycling effort,” Hazelton said. The city estimates its recycling rate at about 25 percent, based on state measurements. That includes an estimated share of bottles returned as part of the state’s deposit refund program, as well as curbside recycling. The goal is to increase recycling to about 50 percent.

The city offers free curbside recycling to every residence where one to seven families live. People who need a recycling bin may phone Public Works at 783-1733 to have one delivered to their house. They may stop into the department’s Gracelawn Road shops to pick one up, as well.

Auburn began its curbside recycling program in 1992. By 1998, the city’s recycling rate was about 45 percent, and it’s declined since then.

“The committee is kind of trying to define its roles, at this point,” Hazelton said. He expects the group to become a regular advisory group to the City Council on trash collection matters, including recycling and the annual spring cleanup.