Who's successfully got their community to mandate recycling?

[Rosemary2205]

My parents live in a wealthier area and the city government mandates recycling - they have a separate bin where they put all recyclables together. They are picked up by the same company that collects the trash but with a separate truck and they are sorted at a recycling center. Pretty much one company dominates the trash collection in the entire metro area where they live -- excepting a few cities in that metro area do have their own governmental trash collection.


I live in an economically depressed unincorporated county area and I wonder if that has anything to do with why we don't recycle here. There are 5 different private trash companies that collect on my street. We were able to successfully get the county to mandate all yard waste has to be collected separately and turned into compost or mulch at the landfill. I have tried a number of times to get the county government to mandate recycling but they will just not do it. I can never get a good reason why.

I'd also like them to mandate deposits on cans, soda/milk/juice bottles and the plastic bottles detergents come it. Like that -- but I can't seem to get anywhere with it. They all seem to think I am the lone nut.

Any idea would be appreciated.

[likesmountains 52]

1. well, it's not mandated here but what the city did was give every home

a standard trash can, and a recycling bin. It you don't recycle your glass, plastic and paper (for an average sized family I suppose) you will have too much trash to fit in the trash can...then you have to pay extra if you have to get another can...
Our city says that it doesn't make money on the recycling program, but they keep it going and most people participate.

[supernova]

2. Orange County NC - not mandated but

close to something like 80 -85% participation in the recycling program. They do this by 1) giving out recycling bins to each residence and business. 2) offering to come by your house 2x/month and pick up your recyclables and that's free (unlike regualr garbage pickup). That's a big deal because this county is still fairly rural. You can also always go to the landfill recycling stations throughout the county.

List of recyclables and more here: http://www.co.orange.nc.us/recycling/a-z-recyclery.asp

[Rosemary2205]

5. What a great website. Thanks.

Even if my county won't mandate it then a comprehensive list on the county website would help people know what to do with their trash.

Thanks.

[blues90]

3. we have it here , however

of the 10 apartments in this building , my wife and I are the only ones who use the proper containers . I go out there and move the stuff around and the people who live on the street pick up all glass which has a deposite and cans . I just try to make it easier for them .

[Possumpoint]

4. Recycling?

The Northern Virginia county I live in has recycling, providing deposit sites through the county. You can request separate recycling bins from your trash removal contractor but it's a waste of time. The trash man dumps the contents into the trashtruck with the rest of the trash. Complaints to the county do nothing. They have more material coming in then they can sell.

This is the achilies heel of recycling. There is insufficient demand for the raw products coming in to the dump sites. Either they store it or bury it.

[Rosemary2205]

6. I don't understand that.

For instance, with the metal shortages I can't imagine them dumping metals because their's no market.

I am pretty sure glass recycles very easily

I don't know about soda bottles - I thought they were being used to make building materials but it is entirely possible people are throwing away bottles a lot more than they are buying building materials.

Then you have batteries, printer cartridges, paint cans etc that are hazardous waste and should be handled special instead of just trashed.

Where I live doesn't seem to have any comprehensive system of dealing with that and it bothers me.