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>From the Philadelphia Daily News, Mon, Aug. 22, 2005 Recycling down despite success with pilot City: Collections dropped by 3,000 tons for year By RAMONA SMITH smithra@no.address THE CITY'S lagging residential recycling rate has slipped even further into the cellar, in spite of an experiment that is bringing new excitement to pockets of Northwest Philadelphia. Although recycling bins are filling to higher levels in parts of West Oak Lane and Chestnut Hill, the city's overall recycling collections dropped by 3,000 tons in the year that ended June 30, according to Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson. Philadelphians recycled only an average 5.5 percent of their household trash - about half a percent lower than the level at which the recycling program had stalled for years. That's 41,000 tons recycled out of a total 756,000 tons of household waste picked up by city trucks. That news comes less than two weeks after a report by the city controller that was critical of the recycling program - and the unrelated indictment and firing of the city recycling director. Despite the tantalizing potential of the small experimental project, the 17-year-old city program is beset by the same old arguments about what works, what recycling costs and what to do next. "Our mission is certainly to improve these numbers from where we are," said Tolson. Beyond the outright drop in recycling tonnage, she said, the Streets Department actually collected more trash in this past fiscal year than previously, helping to shrink the recycled share. If there's any agreement about recycling in Philadelphia, it's that collections need to grow. Despite a goal of 50 percent in the original recycling ordinance - later reduced to at least 35 percent - the city has never recycled more than 7 percent of household trash. Many other cities, and neighboring suburbs, have done better. "Recycling done properly is the best of both worlds," said City Controller Jonathan A. Saidel. "The city saves money and does something for the environment and the people of Philadelphia at the same time." With a goal of 50 percent and a longstanding stalemate at 6 percent, Saidel demanded, "Where has the government been?" Saidel, considered a likely mayoral candidate, contends the city could recycle at least 35 percent of the household trash for an annual savings of $17 million. He and recycling advocates point to the $58 or so spent to dump each ton of trash at a landfill as a source of mega-savings. They maintain the city could save millions by such steps as enforcing the recycling ordinance; picking up additional materials, such as plastic, heavy cardboard and yard waste; and extending weekly recycling pickups across the city, where many neighborhoods still recycle every other week. "We've been saying that for years," said Emily Linn of the Recycling Alliance of Philadelphia, the coalition that prompted Saidel to examine the city program. But the Streets Department insists it isn't all that simple. Officials say it costs more to collect recyclables than trash, potentially cancelling out future savings on landfill costs. That debate has been going on for years. The city is now using compactor trucks - the kind used for trash collection - in parts of Northwest Philadelphia to see if recycling costs less when all the materials are picked up in a "single stream," meaning in one bin, rather than by separating paper from bottles and cans. The more intriguing part of the pilot, however, is a rewards system for recyclers in about 2,500 homes - less than half a percent of the homes on city recycling routes. "They've done a wonderful job, and they've been great partners. The pilot is very successful," said Tolson, speaking of RecycleBank, the start-up company that has provided 35-gallon bins and weighing devices for free for the past few months. "The issue will be, as we replicate this in a more real-world environment, can we replicate that success?" Saidel and Linn acknowledged that, despite the appeal of rewards coupons - worth up to about $30 a month in discounts, based on pounds recycled - incentives might need to be employed as a short-term tactic, rather than a permanent feature. But right now, the program is so popular that people are recycling more and they're recycling more often. In the pilot areas, the amount collected per household each week has at least tripled, said Patrick FitzGerald, president of RecycleBank. In Chestnut Hill, where a typical household would set out 10 pounds of recyclables weekly before the program, people now put out an average of 30 pounds. And in West Oak Lane, where recycling was almost flat-lining at three to five pounds, people are now putting out 18 to 20 pounds a week on the special routes, he said. That project area includes a small number of homes in Mount Airy and Germantown. "To us, that's the true meaning of success right there," FitzGerald said. This week, he said, he's sending the city a proposal to continue the project beyond its end-of-August expiration date - and expand it citywide. This time, it wouldn't be free, he said, but he contended that landfill savings would pay for it. The city's collection costs, however, wouldn't be considered in calculating savings. "I think the residents of Philadelphia are looking for a rewarding way to recycle and an easy way to recycle. And this enables them to have an easy way to recycle, and one that is personally rewarding and supports local businesses," he said. Tolson said the city will have to evaluate the program before deciding where to go with it, and will have to consider how to handle any change in recycling processing fees. Currently, Blue Mountain Recycling in South Philadelphia is cutting the city a break by continuing to pay the city as much for recyclable paper as it did before it installed expensive processing equipment to handle all recyclables in a single stream. (The city is reaping about $1 million a year by marketing its recyclables.) Meanwhile, David Robinson, the fired recycling director who had boosted the pilot as a potential way to "revolutionize recycling," faces charges in U.S. District Court. He pleaded not guilty Aug. 9 to conspiracy to defraud the government in connection with birthday and retirement parties staged for a former streets commissioner, allegedly with government funds. Streets Commissioner Tolson was reported to be the official who spotted wrongdoing and alerted the city inspector general. --Jenny Jennifer Gitlitz Research Director, Container Recycling Institute Home Office: 2 Pomeroy Ave. Dalton, MA 01226 Tel. (413) 684-4746 Mobile: (413) 822-0115 Fax: (413) 403-0233 Email: jgitlitz@no.address Please note the new address for CRI¹s main office: Container Recycling Institute 1601 North Kent St., Suite 803 Arlington, VA 22209-2105 Tel. (703) 276-9800 Fax: (703) 276-9587 www.container-recycling.org www.bottlebill.org |
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