BLACKSBURG -- Momentum is growing for a commercial recycling program that could begin downtown and eventually expand to every business in the town limits.

Blacksburg Town Council is set to vote Dec. 9 on a resolution supporting recommendations from the ad-hoc Downtown Recycling Study Group that would create a mandatory "pay-as-you-throw" recycling system for businesses.

While all town residents pay for curbside recycling at home, any commercial recycling must be done privately, Blacksburg Environmental Manager Susan Garrison said.

Businesses that want to recycle must employ a patchwork of efforts that vary in cost and efficiency. Some can't find an affordable service provider. Some simply don't have the space to store glass, metal and paper between collection times.

Since April, the recycling study group -- led by members of the nonprofit Sustainable Blacksburg organization and including solid waste professionals, town staff and local business owners -- has been working on the first phase of a comprehensive commercial recycling plan, Bill Claus of Sustainable Blacksburg told the council at a recent presentation.

In that time, group members surveyed downtown businesses to determine interest in recycling and assessed established commercial programs in other localities, such as Charlottesville and Roanoke, Claus said.

"Roanoke has a plan similar to what we're proposing, and it's been working for a long time," study group member and Blacksburg restaurateur Mike Soriano said.

Under the proposed program, all downtown businesses would be required to participate in a uniform recycling program, but each business would be billed only for the amount of recyclables it produces. If successful, the program could be expanded to all Blacksburg businesses.

The group's other recommendations include establishing several permanent recycling drop-off sites across town, recycling all cooking oil produced by the town's restaurants and large-scale composting of food waste.

The Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg has formally endorsed the group's core recommendations, and some council members have said publicly they also support it.

"I think it's very exciting. It's something that we've needed to do downtown for a long time," Mayor Ron Rordam said. "To have Sustainable Blacksburg to get involved and work with the Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg in a grass-roots initiative is what we need to make this a reality."

If the council approves the recommendations next week, the study group will take up the second phase of the recycling project: figuring out just how much it will cost and how it will work.