By Brett Rosenberg
November 9, 2009

Judith Thorman, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at the American Beverage Association, presented the results of a nationwide study the group undertook in 2008. The survey focuses on nationwide access to recycling programs at the local level. Thorman, along with Kevin Dietly of Northbridge Environmental Management Consultants, shared a few of the survey’s key findings, including:

• 74 percent of Americans have access to curbside recycling at home.

• Of the households where curbside service is available, 59 percent have single'stream recycling programs – i.e., one container for all approved recyclables.

• 92 percent of the population has access to some type of recycling program in their local communities.

Stating, “The distance between state recycling coordinators and actual recycling programs is pretty great,” Dietly explained that the survey targeted cities, small communities and counties to garner a better understanding of specific recycling trends. Dietly also cited two major barriers to further expanding curbside recycling programs. These include the fact that about 35 million people currently have access to only subscription curbside recycling programs, which have proven to be less successful than non'subscription programs, due largely to the fees involved. In addition, 36 to 60 million people simply do not have any kind of curbside recycling program available. Considering that 74 percent of households do have curbside recycling programs and between 86 and 93 percent of households have regular trash collection, according to Thurman and Dietly, there is tremendous opportunity to expand the curbside recycling efforts to align them with trash collection.

A recycling trend gaining significant traction across the U.S. involves a program that rewards households for their recycling efforts. MWMA members heard from Preston Read, Senior Vice President for Environmental Affairs at RecycleBank, a company that enables participating communities to equip recycling containers with components that record the weigh of recyclable material prior to each pick-up. Households receive credit for their recycling efforts in the form of gift cards through numerous local and national retailers.

Participants are able to track their recycling efforts on-line, where they’re able to track fuel and water savings, greenhouse gas emissions offset, and other environmental benefits. They are also able to redeem rewards from over 2,000 partners or donate their credits to various charities. Cities are likewise able to track recycling trends throughout neighborhoods and allocate resources as necessary.

Read made it clear that the programs RecycleBank offers are eligible for ARRA and EECBG funds, citing a Department of Energy criterion on Material Conservation Programs that states, “Entities may implement activities to increase participation and efficiency rates for material conservation programs, including source reduction, recycling, and recycled content procurement programs that lead to increases in energy efficiency.”

He also sited increases in several cities’ recycling rates after implementing a RecycleBank Program. For instance, Wilmington (DE) went from near zero pounds per household per year to 624 on average; in Rochester Hills (MI), the rate went from 90 pounds per year to 696. To date, 25 major metro areas have a RecycleBank program.

Ken Buegger, National Sales Manager at LaBrie Environmental, and Bob Nicholas, Corporate Fleet Director for Waste Pro, led a discussion on the economics and technology behind automated recycling efforts.

Although high-tech materials handling facilities are quite costly, according to Buegger, recent advances have led to facilities that are capable of sorting several kinds of recyclable material without much threat of contamination.

These developments have encouraged many municipal recycling programs to explore using trucks equipped with automated arms that can retrieve curbside containers while the lone operator remains inside the cab. Automated trucks allow for safer conditions, whereby the crews do not face adverse or unsanitary conditions and they do not risk injury from repetitive, heavy lifting. Furthermore, a lone driver/operator is able do the work of a traditional two to three person crew, saving money for the city. In many cases, automated trucks provide far safer and efficient recycling operations for cities.

The new generation of automated trucks can be equipped for single'stream curbside pick-up or dual'stream in cases where the materials handling facilities do not have single'stream capabilities.

Nicholas offered several suggestions that local recycling fleet operators should consider when contemplating system automation. His recommendations involved a thorough analysis of a system’s current status and its costs; coming up with a reasonable set of objectives for an automated system; planning and deploying a pilot system; implementing public education campaigns; and providing ample training for all participants.