Single Stream Recycling

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

I learned at a forum this eve that Somerville is going to do a pilot of single stream recycling. That means you put everything in one roller bin (that has a lid) rather than sorting cardboard and paper separately. I think this is great from the consumer. Much more convenient and a lid on recycling bins is absolutely a necessity, the wind tends to blow pieces of paper around. We had this in Seattle, it was great. There are operational pros and cons that one can see discussed on various internet forums that I won't go into, but I think the pros outweigh the cons.

The pilot is tentatively to be in the spring in parts of Ward 5 or thereabouts. Those folks will get a mailer and maybe some other outreach before receiving their barrel.

Regarding the current system, at the meeting I think I also convinced the city representative to push a change to allow landlords to pickup the current blue bins on behalf of tenants (currently only actual residents can do this). I find that my tenants always look to me to do this, and I always have to refer them to Franey Road, during business hours, and most people are just not able to make it, so less recycling happens in the end.

Comments

[ron_newman]

My apartment building has had five big roller bins (with lids) for years now, and they seem to be officially sanctioned by the city. We put paper in three of the bins, and metal, glass, and plastic containers in the other two. The employees of our landlord's management company roll the bins out to the street each Monday night. We no longer use any blue bins.

So I'm not sure this pilot program is really anything new.

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

New for 1-4 family properties, and also no sorting like you're currently doing.

[ethanfield.livejournal.com]

Ron, this could be a few things:
* The giant apartment building next to mine seems to have contracted out its trash/recycling to Waste Management. A number of businesses have done this because it can be cheaper. So the city may completely ignore them.
* I think sometimes the tall-rolling bins are used for large apartment buildings with 6 or more units. I think I asked once about getting one for my building (5 units) and was told it'd cost $50, but that landlords sometimes pay this because it keeps everything cleaner (and hence, they're less likely to get a health code violation fine.)

[ron_newman]

This is a 50-unit apartment building. I"m pretty sure I've seen the city recycling truck empty our bins, and they are put out on the street's regular trash day.

[fefie.livejournal.com]

This is good news. I don't mind the current sorting practice but many of my ward 5 neighbors seem unable to do it. Also the recycling put out on the curb around here results in a big mess due to wind, folks on the street rummaging for empty bottles in the open bins, and the strewn about contents left behind after the contractor picks up. (I'm not sure the latter two issues will be resolved by lidded containers.)

[in-parentheses.livejournal.com]

Thank you for mentioning that about landlords picking up the bins! That is nothing but hassle if you work during the day and/or don't have a car. They need a better system overall, but giving landlords the option of helping out would at least be an improvement.

[dial-zero.livejournal.com]

I love single-stream! Austin just got it last year, and the amount of stuff they recycled went up by 50% in a year. It's nice to see the big blue recycling carts next to the smaller, green trash carts. And to not have to sort.