Municipal Recycling

Houston Expands RecycleBank Program

Houston Mayor Annise Parker and Solid Waste Management Department Director Harry Hayes have announced that 54,000 additional Houston households will receive 96-gallon recycling carts through the rewards-for-recycling program RecycleBank.

In an effort to encourage more recycling and greener behavior, Houston partnered with New York City-based RecycleBank, rolling out recycling carts to more than 22,000 homes last year and offering single-stream recycling. Following the success of the roll out, the Houston City Council approved a budget to purchase an additional 54,000 recycling carts in January of this year. The expansion increases the total number of households being served through the RecycleBank program to more than 76,000.

In the first four months of Houston’s RecycleBank’s program, participating households more than doubled the amount of material they recycled, according to city officials. Along with reducing the amount diverted to recycling, Houston also saved approximately $44,000 in landfill disposal costs.

The first phase of Houston’s RecycleBank program was sponsored in part by Alcoa and Texas Instruments as well as through a grant from the Houston-Galveston Area Council.

RecycleBank operates in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as well as in 25 states and in the United Kingdom.

CVP Survey Reveals Lingering Concerns for Recycling Program Managers

According to the results of an online survey of recycling program decision makers conducted by the Curbside Value Partnership (CVP), a Keep America Beautiful (KAB) program, recycling programs are showing signs of economic recovery. However, some worries, such as finding markets for recyclables and reduced program funding, remain major concerns, according to respondents.

The survey, a follow-up to a similar survey conducted in March 2009, was administered to CVP’s database of recycling program decision makers. A total of 311 responses were recorded for a response rate of 11 percent, according to the CVP.

In response to the question “What worries you most about your recycling program this year,” respondents’ answers were divided among concern over sluggish recycling markets, low program participation and reduced funding.

Sixty-five percent of respondents reported that their programs had been affected by the economy in the last 12 months. Many said it’s not because of program budget cuts, but because they could not find markets for their materials. Fifty-four percent of respondents reported that their budgets were not cut since the start of the year, while 39.5 percent said their budgets were reduced (32.4 percent said the cuts ranged from 5 to 15 percent, while 14 percent reported cuts ranging from 15 to 30 percent). 

Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed reported that participation was comparable to the previous year, and 34 percent reported that participation had increased so far this year. However, 19 percent of respondents said participation had declined from last year, while 8.2 percent said they had no access to data to measure.

According to the CVP, the survey found that respondents were more optimistic than last year, with the majority of respondents (51.4 percent) describing their current state of mind as “full steam ahead” versus last year, when the most common description was “riding out the storm.” (Respondents in both surveys were given the same options to choose from.) Forty-two percent of respondents indicated that they were seeing signs of improvement in the economy, with many reporting increases in commodity prices.

When it comes to program education, 55.2 percent said their education budgets were about the same as last year, while 36 percent reported reductions.

With tight budgets or the looming possibility of budget cuts in the year ahead, 70 percent of respondents reported that they were turning to online resources, like their Web sites, to provide low- or no-cost education to residents. Many reported that they were seeking partnerships with other groups and using the free resources offered by local, state and national groups such as SWANA (Solid Waste Association of North America), KAB and CVP to supplement their education efforts.

The CVP, a program of Stamford, Conn,-based KAB, is designed to grow participation in curbside recycling programs. KAB is a volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of nearly 1,000 affiliate and participating organizations, KAB forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment.

Delaware Governor Proposes Statewide Curbside Recycling

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell has announced a proposal to offer curbside recycling to every residence and business within the state without adding additional costs to consumers.

Under the proposed plan, all private waste haulers and municipalities would be required to provide curbside recycling service, including a dedicated recycling container and collection at least once every other week. Households and businesses would not be mandated to recycle but they would have a recycling container and collection services provided to them.

The current 5-cent-per-bottle returnable bottle deposit would be modernized and transitioned over time to a 2-cent-per-bottle fee. This fee would only apply to beverage containers currently covered by the deposit program. The fee would no longer be a returnable deposit and retailers would no longer be required to collect returned bottles. The revenue from the fee would help haulers and municipalities with the startup costs associated with adding curbside recycling, including the purchase of recycling containers, new vehicles and other recycling infrastructure.

“Making recycling convenient and available to every household in the state is a goal that has long been sought, but the cost has always been prohibitive,” Markell says. He adds that his administration believes curbside recycling can be added for no additional cost through the proposed change to the state’s bottle bill.

Additional details on the governor’s proposal can be found at www.recyclingtoday.com/delaware_statewide_curbside_recycling.aspx.