The city of Selma’s recycling bins have been removed, but the city council wants citizens to know they are working on a long-term solution to bring the city’s recycling program back.

The city’s contract with Holley True Value Recycling ended at the first of the year. The city had a temporary contract with Holley to cover the gap, but much like the original contract, it came to an end, and it wasn’t renewed.

Since then, the city has been getting calls every day about the status of its recycling program.

“We are just embarrassed and so sorry and mortified for the inconvenience in stopping [the program],” said councilwoman Susan Keith. “It is just a horrible inconvenience, and it is going to be handled in an efficient manner.”

While the program is temporarily on hold, Keith wants citizens to know it will be back and better than it was before.

“It will be coming back, and it will be more affective,” Keith said.

While the bins have been taken up, Keith said people can still recycle by taking their recyclables to Holley True Value Recycling, located at 1601 Water Ave.

“If anybody has things they need to be recycled that they have stocked up and ready to take, they can take them to the facility,” Keith said.

Keith said she understands how important the program is to the city and Selma’s residents.

“It was a starting point, and we’ll be beefing it up a bit because it is important,” Keith said. “It is important to us, it is important to our environment and it is obviously important to the citizens.”

According to Keith, the bins were taken up after an error in the city’s department of planning and development.

“There was a glitch in our community development department that caused a glitch with the contractor that was handling the recycling program,” Keith said, as she discussed the issue with council members.

Keith wanted to insure people that the program won’t just be brought back, but it will also be expanded.

“We are still working on the recycling program,” Keith said.

“We are working on ways to make it more efficient and expanding it.”

When the program does come back, Keith wants people to use it properly.

One of the main reasons behind Holley wanting to get out of the recycling business is because of extra labor for people putting garbage in the bins and misusing them.