[greenyes] RE: rough data on curbside recycling

["DONNAWAY Jay" <Donnaway.Jay@no.address>]

Hello Megan, 

A lot depends on how you choose to define participation and setout
rates.  Just don't equate the two- I worked with one city who was
concerned about a 35% participation (weekly setout) rate.  After
recording the setouts by address for one quarter, we discovered that 67%
of households were setting out recyclables at least once per month!
This is a much better measurement of participation in a traditional
weekly curbside bin-based program.  In a program using large carts
and/or biweekly or monthly collection, participation should be defined
as the percentage of households who set out at least once per month or
even once per quarter (such as with Nashville's 96 gallon cart-based
monthly collection).


Good Luck,

Jay Donnaway
Oregon DEQ