Cleveland resumes curbside recycling program

The city of Cleveland plans to resume its curbside recycling program June 13. The city had canceled its recycling operations in April 2020 when its previous recycling contract expired.

According to a statement from Orensel Brumfield, recycling coordinator for the city of Cleveland, the city halted recycling operations in 2020 because the city and its collection vendor at the time did not reach an agreement on the contract.

Brumfield adds, “I know contamination and costs were definitely factors.”

For about two years, Cleveland’s residential recyclables were sent to the landfill. In the last year, Brumfield says the city hired a consultant to rethink the city’s residential recycling program. In March, the city also approved a $1.5 million contract with Cincinnati-based Rumpke Waste & Recycling to haul recyclables from the city’s transfer station to its processing facilities. The City of Cleveland’s Division of Waste will handle curbside collection for the program.

Residential recycling is available to Cleveland residents who live in single-family homes and multifamily buildings that have up to four units. Brumfield adds that more than 30,000 households have signed up to participate in the new program.