I too can offer testament of the effectiveness of mandates. I operate
an apartment complex where there is management mandated participation
(Yes! I said management! There is no opportunity for area MFD tenants to
recycle and otherwise divert) in the complex's recycling,
compost-target, and HHW collection programs. Recyclables capture rates
range from as high as 95 percent to a very respectable low of 70
percent. Compost-Target collection is experiencing an amazing 50 to 65
percent capture rate after 8 months of operation.
Stephan Pollard
Environmental Dynamics Doctoral Program
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR
Reindl, John wrote:
Our mandatory programs also have had high rates of compliance (nearly 100%
as determined by studies of Peter Anderson in my own city), and, due to
economies of scale, low costs, with some cases where the cost is less than
the cost of collection/landfilling.
John Reindl
Dane County, WI
-----Original Message-----
From: Snyder, Mark [mailto:Mark.Snyder@no.address]
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 12:15 PM
To: GreenYes
Subject: RE: [greenyes] Recycling Program Travail
It would seem the problem can be summed up right here:
"In Indianapolis, recycling is voluntary, and residents must
call the city or their contractor to sign up, and pay an
average $5 a month for the service."
In Minneapolis, one of the cities cited as having a
successful program, residents who participate in the curbside
program get a $7 per month credit on their garbage bills.
Mark Snyder
Pollution Prevention Specialist
Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Anderson [mailto:anderson@no.address]
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 11:57 AM
To: GreenYes
Subject: [greenyes] Recycling Program Travail
INDIANAPOLIS STAR
Indy recycling could get kicked from the curb
City may dump program due to low participation, cost
By Tammy Webber
tammy.webber@no.address
May 5, 2005
Indianapolis' struggling curbside and drop-off recycling
programs might be
eliminated to help trim the Department of Public Works'
budget, leaving
residents who want to recycle to fend for themselves.
Participation in the programs is so poor -- and costs so high
-- that the
department must consider cutting them, department spokeswoman
Margie Smith
Simmons said Wednesday.
She said the department also is considering ending waste
collection on
holidays, as well as reducing the frequency of trash collection. The
department will also look at whether it will continue
collecting leaves and
removing dead animals.
Only about 3.5 percent of eligible households participate in curbside
recycling programs offered by the city and its contractors.
For most, it's
easier to throw everything away. Some residents take their
recyclables --
newspapers, cardboard, glass, aluminum and plastic -- to one
of 29 drop-off
sites, but that still ends up costing the city money, Smith
Simmons said.
"In general, there doesn't seem to be the understanding of
the importance of
recycling within the community of Indianapolis," she said.
Recycling reduces the amount of raw materials needed to make
goods -- it's
easier to make plastic from plastic, rather than from petroleum, for
example, and recycling lowers energy consumption. It also
preserves landfill
space and reduces the amount burned in incinerators.
"If we're trying to present a positive image as a city of the
millennium,
this won't reflect positively on us," said Steve Benham, who
said he's one
of only two people who tote recycling bins to the curb every
week in his
Glendale neighborhood. "People already view us as backward."
Indianapolis' situation, though, is similar to that of other
large cities in
the Midwest -- including Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland and
Columbus, Ohio --
where recycling efforts are floundering.
Still, some large cities, including Minneapolis and San
Francisco, have
successful programs, and several Marion County suburbs have
programs in
which 30 percent to 80 percent of residents participate
because recycling is
mandatory or made simple.
In Indianapolis, recycling is voluntary, and residents must
call the city or
their contractor to sign up, and pay an average $5 a month
for the service.
As a result, most residents don't bother.
"...
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FOR FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050505/NE
WS02/505050468/1008&template=printart
--
Stephan Pollard, Ph.D. Candidate
Environmental Dynamics Doctoral Program
University of Arkansas
Rm 113 Ozark Hall
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Tel: (479) 479-6603
Http://www.cast.uark.edu/~sp
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