MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake's year-old curbside recycling program has diverted thousands of wasted tons from the landfill and netted thousands of dollars in refunds for residents.

"The program is going exceedingly well," city finance director Ronald Cone told city council members last week. "We've seen an increase in requests for second 64-gallon recycle carts or 96-gallon recycle carts in place of the 64s."

In an effort to further increase resident buy-in to the program, city council authorized Cone to apply for a $900 grant supported by the Department of Ecology and distributed through the Grant County Solid Waste Department.

The money would provide funding for printed materials about the recycling program, fliers informing residents of pickup dates and what they can put in their recycle bins.

Cone said the recycling program brought in 2,631 tons of yard waste and 3,540 tons of recyclable material from its inception last August to August 2011.

The total monthly average was 576 tons of waste diverted from the landfill, which Cone said may save the city even more money in the future if Grant County follows through on a proposed hike in tipping fees.

As the price for recyclables climbs, more tonnage translates to dollars back for participating residents.

The price for single stream recyclable material sold by the city has risen from an initial $55 per ton to $75 per ton, which Cone said nets Moses Lake a tidy $50 per ton.

"I'm feeling pretty confident that our price will stay up," he said.

That income, along with an uptick in recycling, has allowed Moses Lake to refund from $.37 to $.81 per month on the utility bills, returning over $26,700 this year.

"We can be distinctly proud of our recycle program," Cone said. "We've had some questions over time, especially lately, as to what's happening to our program as other entities around us are looking at their own."