Curb Your Enthusiasm

The fits and starts suffered by municipal residential recyclables collection programs seem to have ebbed. While a few of the largest cities have abandoned their recycling programs, an overwhelming majority of the top cities in the United States has some type of curbside collection program for recyclables.

Click here to view the list of top 20 curbside municipal recycling programs.

While the pie-in-the-sky optimism associated with some of the early curbside programs has dissipated, many of the recycling coordinators who now run these programs are more knowledgeable about the components of an effective recycling program.

With this in mind, more municipalities have introduced various versions of the single-stream collection program. While single-stream collection programs were initially met with significant opposition by many groups—most notably consumers of secondary commodities—as the technology available to sort these divergent materials has improved, so has the quality of the secondary commodities. However, some opponents of single-stream programs still say that the additional costs for sorting and cleaning the material collected from single-stream programs makes recycling more challenging and expensive.

JOINING FORCES. What also has changed with many residential curbside programs is the public sector’s willingness to work with the private sector to boost collection levels. Although still far from standard, more cities are

Additionally, more private-sector recycling companies are recognizing that, while residentially collected material creates some challenges, it is foolish to ignore this sector’s role in growing the recycling industry. As a result, they are partnering with the public sector to process and collect this material, and even going so far as to establish revenue-sharing programs.

Municipalities are also expanding the materials they collect curbside. While most cities are seeking plastics, UBCs, steel cans, newspaper and glass, a number of cities have expanded their collections to include boxboard, mixed paper and a wider range of plastics.

Some cities are adopting incentive programs to encourage participation in their curbside recycling programs. RecycleBank, a growing incentive-based recycling program, has started to take hold in a number of cities. RecycleBank is a system whereby residents receive RecycleBank Dollars based on the amount of material they recycle. Residents can redeem these dollars for coupons at participating vendors.

While some critics see the high cost of these programs as a deterrent, the cities using incentive programs are seeking opportunities to increase their recycling rates.

EXPANDED VIEW. To handle the growing amount of material being collected, many private-sector operations have invested significant capital in processing the collected recyclables. For instance, Houston-based Waste Management recently held a grand opening for its new single-stream MRF in Elkridge, Md. The 50,000-square-foot facility has the capacity to process up to 1,000 tons of recyclables per day, according to Waste Management. Initially developed to serve Howard and Anne Arundel counties in Maryland, the MRF’s size allows it to accept materials from the greater Baltimore/Washington area.

However, not just the largest recycling companies are able to take advantage of the growth in curbside materials. For example, Friedman Recycling of Phoenix, Ariz., recently opened a new MRF in El Paso, Texas.

The growth of residential recycling programs can be seen in the case of San Francisco. The city claims a 69 percent recovery rate and collects a wide range of recyclables, including compostable material.

Reaching into multi-unit structures can be another way for municipal programs to broaden their reach. In mid-July, Cynthia Ruiz, president of the city of Los Angeles Board of Public Works, announced the start of the city’s new Multi-Family Residential Recycling Program, which will provide recycling services to more than 540,000 multi-family homes.

"By taking advantage of innovative programs that offer additional recycling opportunities, like this, residents can help us achieve the mayor’s goal of diverting 70 percent of the city’s refuse away from landfills by 2015," Ruiz says. The city currently has a 62 percent diversion rate.

While recycling may be an expense in some cities, most of the nation’s large cities are working to ensure these programs continue to grow.