Ann Arbor looks at creating one big river of recycling

Thursday, October 15, 2009 | Source: Concentrate
Recycling continues to evolve in Ann Arbor, from a number of trickles into one big stream.

Excerpt:

The first lesson with recycling is the need to separate. Metal goes in this bin. Clear glass over there. Green glass right here. Plastics 1-2 in the big bin. Don't, repeat, don't mix and match.

Ann Arbor residents could be throwing that lesson out soon. The city is looking at switching to a single-stream, or fully commingled, recycling effort. That means residents would no longer have to put paper products in the paper bin and everything else in the other bin. It would all go in the same box on the curb each week.

Among the incentives for going single stream are making it easier for residents to use, meaning more is recycled, expansion of the recycling list, and reduced logistical costs. However, there are some downsides, such as increased sorting costs. Among the other cities that use single-stream recycling are Austin, Texas and Baltimore.

"The technology has improved significantly over the years as far as sorting materials," says Tom McMurtrie, recycling coordinator for the city of Ann Arbor.

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