Single-Stream Recycling

[smammy]

Somerville is switching to single-stream recycling citywide:

After nine months of testing an extremely popular zero-sort recycling pilot program in Ward 5, the City of Somerville has reached an agreement in principle with Casella Recycling LLC to take the program citywide this fall.

Yay!

Comments

[ron_newman]

I like it, but it doesn't seem like too much trouble to do things the way they are right now: all paper in one bin, all other stuff (plastic, glass, metal) together in the other bin.

[smammy]

The press release says that recycling rates increased by 60% in Ward 5 during the pilot program. That sounds like a pretty good reason to switch over.

[ron_newman]

Sure -- I'm just surprised it makes such a difference. I would never think to throw paper in with other stuff anyway.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

That's how it was always done when I lived on Hancock Street. Everyone on my street put everything into the blue bins. And it always seemed to get picked up.

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

What is this "other bin" you speak of? On our block, they seem to go missing immediately (particularly once you mark it with your address, go figure), plus the experience of obtaining the bins has to be the biggest muncipal-related PITA I've had to deal with in twenty years of living here (fifteen different forms of ID, can't get two at a time, can't get one for your tenants, no no no no no). For something that is ostensibly saving the city money by getting material with some value out of the wastestream/landfill track, they're running it like a former Soviet republic.

Anyway, I've never been keen on putting office paper into an open bin either, been hauling it into the office for years. Will be nice to have something with a lid on it.

How well does the pickup of the new larger bins work on windy days?

[ron_newman]

I'm in a 50-unit apartment building so maybe things are different here already. We have five big rolling bins, two of them marked for glass/metal/plastics mix and the other three for paper. The city allows office paper, so I throw it in right along with the newspapers, magazines, and junk mail.

[smammy]

I used to always see the recycling guys sorting the paper and card out for those who were too lazy to do it themselves. My guess is that the City and the recycling contractor are just acknowledging that nobody sorts anyway and centralizing the sorting, making it more efficiency and yielding a higher-quality final product. Just a guess though.

[smammy]

The new zero-sort bins are going to have attached lids, I believe.

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

I've been grumbling about cutting down cardboard boxes to fit into paper grocery bags for years. Didn't know I could've gotten away with shirking that. I expect my recycling to rise dramatically, and I've been making an effort. I'd pay higher taxes for this. win win win

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Ah. I live in a two-family. I can take time out of work to go to the DPW and get a blue bin (they're only open during my work hours and commuting time, and are not anything like on my way, so time out of work is my only option) and possibly have it stolen (it's happened to me three times) or I can get a cheap plastic tote bin at K-Mart and write "RECYCLING" on it and possibly have it stolen. I don't want to have to buy two, so I put my paper recycling in a paper grocery bag. I don't like getting the grocery bags at the store because I try to use reusable ones, so I recently grabbed a bunch from a friend. Now, of course, I have more than I'll use before the new program is in effect. Figures.

[ratushebarl.livejournal.com]

Another vote of happy about lidded bins. Paper blowing around is annoying, and also I've read that wet paper is useless for recycling, and if it happens to rain on trash night well why are we bothering.

It _is_ a pain getting the bins. Is there reason to hope this will improve?

[fangirl715.livejournal.com]

What she said--I haven't had a recycling bin in several years because they always kept being stolen. As if constantly having to replace trash cans wasn't enough... (Yes, someone stole/dumped our trash can again this week, so it's off to TAGS to get another one. This one wasn't damaged and still quite usable, and I would have thought having it in bright red would have helped, but...who the hell takes them, and what do they DO with them, anyway?!?)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

For the pilot program, the big bins were delivered. Perhaps they'll do the same for the full roll-out.

(You might be amused to hear that Carmine came out and yelled at the poor guys dropping off the bins.)

paper bags for paper recycling

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

Every once in awhile on trash days in nice weather, I score a big pile of WF or TJ paper bags as I'm walking along my route. it's the little things that make me happy :-)

[leko.livejournal.com]

I am in ward 5, and I love the single stream recycling. As soon as I could start putting paper in the bag I have out for cans and bottles, my garbage production dropped significantly. Maintaining multiple recycling bins in the house is annoying. Now almost everything other than cat waste ends up in the recycling bin.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Ron, the rest of us have to make due with those small open bins. It makes recycling harder because what happens when you fill whatever vessel you use in your home? With trash, you just put the bag in the large trash cans outside, but with recycling, most of us have no place to put it.

I was in the pilot program as well and the best part was being able to maintain a small recycling area in the house that I could empty into the large bins anytime I wanted to and I didn't even have to sort. It's easy for me to see why that ease of use increased recycling rates.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

I live in Medford and a while back they implement single-stream recycling and delivered bins to every address--I'd be surprised if they didn't do the same in Somerville (now if someone steals the big bin, I'd guess then you might have to go get a replacement.)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Anyone know if single stream is particularly more expensive (both financially and energy)

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

I never separate and it always gets picked up. We only have one bin so I dont know how we would separate anyways.

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

Hah and they are ALWAYS out of new bins!

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

64 GALLON bins??

Well, I guess I'll only need to put the recycling out on the curb every month or 3 :\ But what an annoyingly large thing to have to have lurking around, somewhere, god only knows where the monster can live.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I always wondered if it really mattered, but I do it, anyway. As per: http://faqs.somervillema.intelligovsoftware.com/papergoods.aspx

Newspapers, magazines or collapsed cardboard boxes may be set out next to the recycle bin inside a paper bag, or in securely tied bundles not to exceed 50 pounds.

We use paper bags.

[dial-zero.livejournal.com]

Are you sure it gets picked up and recycled, and not thrown away, though?

[dial-zero.livejournal.com]

Hehehe. I think "cart" is a better word than "bin." It is a bulky beast, but it's really not a pain to lug out to the curb since it's on wheels, and you can get away with a smaller trash can because you end up recycling more.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

It will make no difference in how much trash we throw out, since we're already recycling as much as we are ever going to (or able to).

And wheels don't help when there's no place in front of our place to store something that size, and not a large enough space between vehicles in the driveway and various walls/fences to roll something that big.

I wish the damn enormous bins were optional, and we could continue to use small, more manageable, more suitable to apartment living, bins.