A proposal to convert Hooksett’s sort-and-dump recycling system to a single-stream system is being met with guarded optimism by the local government, but a few town councilors are worried the switch could decrease recycling revenues.

“They say the recycling market has crashed, but (Hooksett) still picked up $2,500 in December from recycling,” said Town Councilor George Longfellow. “I just think there are too many unknowns for us to jump into this thing.”

Town Councilor David Ross said the 15-year contract Hooksett would be required to sign in order to participate in the singlestream program seems too long.

“My fear is that there will be strings, serious strings, that will bind the future hands of our taxpayers,” Ross said.

But the potential benefits have seemingly outweighed those concerns as the council voted to draft a letter of intentional support to the Concord Regional Solid Waste/Resource Recovery Cooperative to become an associate member of its proposed single-stream recycling facility.

The letter will express interest in the offer to sign the 15- year contract as a participating community. If Hooksett ultimately decides to contribute its recycled goods to the singlestream facility, which is to be built on a site in Penacook, the official contract would not need to be signed until May.

Diane Boyce, Hooksett’s superintendent of recycling and solid waste, said the proposal is a no-brainer.

“Right now, there is no market for recycling. If we can get rid of it for zero dollars per ton, we’re way ahead of the game,” said Boyce, adding the contract requires no up-front investment from Hooksett.

“Recycling should never be considered a source of revenue,” she said. “It should be considered a way to save on trash tipping fees.”

In Boyce’s words, trash is expensive. Hooksett is currently charged $76 per ton to dump its trash at the nearby incinerator. Boyce predicts if the town made it easier for its residents to recycle, the number of trash tons would decrease.

Hooksett’s existing dumpand- sort recycling system is strictly voluntary. Residents cart their recyclable material to the transfer station on Route 3A, where they sort it, depending on its composition, into 10 different compartments.

Boyce said a single-stream system would encourage more people to recycle because it would not require residents to sort recyclable material into separate bins. Instead, residents would only need to dump all their recycled goods into a single bin, which would then be carted to the proposed single stream facility in Penacook for sorting.

“This is the future of collecting recycling anyway,” Boyce said. “I just think this is the way for us to go.”