I have to agree with Mr. White. I would add that you have to do more than
just get the recyclables collected; you have to get them processed and to
market. We have addressed the latter issue by providing a recyling
incentive payment to our franchised haulers (recyclables collection is
mandatory for the haulers, participation by the residents is not). In the
volume based system, generators are encouraged to reduce their waste and
recycle more because they pay for the amount of garbage they generate. With
the recycling incentive payment, the haulers are encouraged to collect even
harder-to-market recyclables and do a better job with sorting, thereby
reducing residue while adding to their bottom line. The recycling incentive
payment provides steady cash flow to the haulers even when commodity markets
are down, virtually eliminating the situation you described below. Maybe
one day recycling will stand on its own in all markets, but for now, garbage
will continue to subsidize recycling efforts.
Stephen Bantillo
City of San Jose, CA
----------
From: Jessewhite@aol.com
To: multiple recipients of
Subject: Re: curbside
Date: Thursday, October 07, 1999 7:10AM
Cindy,
Recycling takes political will, and a financial incentives to the generator.
Although some may question whether curbside is infact the most resource
efficient way to collect recycling. That issue is somewhat mute, since it
is
the generally accepted convention and it is what most people expect if they
are going to participate in a recycling program. The key is participation
and diversion.
Personally, I think a franchise system with mandatory curbside pickup would
be a start, then implementing a "pay as you throw" would seal the deal.
With
PAYT, users pay for trash removal which subsidizes recycling, which is free.
This does two things, first it creates a funding mechanism to carry the
recycling program, second it creates a financial incentive at the generator
level to participate in recycling.
In just about every place where PAYT has been implemented, recycling rates
increase. There are several PAYT systems, including:
- volume based pricing - i.e. you pay for the size of the the trash bin
that
you set out at the curb , small bins are less than large bins, so the
incentive is to downsize,
- unit based pricing also called "pay by the bag" because you buy special
bags or stickers for each bag of trash you set out; and also,
- weight based systems, where waste is weighed at the curb and residents
are
charged by the pound.
PAYT makes the whole program more cost effective, because one of the highest
costs of a recycling program is having a truck run around empty. With PAYT,
there's an incentive to recycle, so these trucks fill up.
Arguably, PAYT could also influence spending/buying/consumer habits. If the
packaging of one product is not recycled in the local program, some people
will switch to locally recyclable commodities to save money.
Jesse
--------------------
Jesse White, President
Resource Management Group, Inc.
PO Box 1726
Tallevast FL 34270-1726
941-358-7730
941-358-7731 FAX
"Creating sustainable programs for business and government to recycle,
compost, and manage solid waste efficiently."
----------------------
In a message dated 10/07/1999 6:04:18 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
greenyes-d-request@earthsystems.org writes:
<< e: Wed, 06 Oct 1999 10:47:41 -0400
From: Cindy Shea <cpshea@earthlink.net>
To: "greenyes@earthsystems.org" <greenyes@earthsystems.org>
Subject: [GRRN] BFI Discontinues Curbside
Effective this week, BFI discontinued the curbside recycling service it
had been providing free of charge in our area. It claimed lower than
expected participation rates and a decline in revenues as the reasons.
2. What's the best path to getting a curbside program reinstituted?
Please provide any insights, guidance or advice you may be able to
offer. It would be wise to strike while the issue is hot. Thank you.
>>
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