A New Year’s treat from the City of Raleigh. Starting in 2009, the city is moving to single-stream collection for recycling. An article in the News & Observer: Raleigh to use new recycling trucks
cautions that customers shouldn’t be surprised to see a “traditional garbage truck picking up their recycling.” The new single stream also set’s us up for a larger recycle bin. I’m a huge fan of having a recycle bin as large as our trash bins.
Additional information from the City of Raleigh E-Newsletter:
RALEIGH TO GO TO SINGLE-STREAM RECYCLING JAN. 1
The City of Raleigh will transition to single-stream recycling collection on January 1. The change will mean that collection crews will no longer need to sort recyclable materials between paper products and containers. All recycling bins will simply be emptied into the truck. The transition will mean that crews will be able to cover more ground during their shifts.
“A lot of people like to help the crews and sort the materials themselves,” said City of Raleigh Waste Reduction Specialist Linda Leighton. “We have been asking people to put containers at the bottom of the bins and paper on top to make things easier. They won’t need to worry about it come January 1. The crews will simply dump everything into the truck.”
The change will come because of updates and improvements made by the City’s recycling contractor, Sonoco Recycling Inc. The company has invested more than $3.5 million and expanded its facility at 111 S. Rogers Lane by more than 22,000 square feet. As a result, the company changed from a manual system to a fully automated facility that can process twice as much material.
The transition will also reduce the fixed price the City receives from $26 per ton to $16 per ton. While the City will receive less revenue, the change should save the City money in both time and equipment. The split-body trucks used for dual-stream recycling cost $60,000 more than traditional rear-loading trucks. In fiscal year 2008-09 the new system will save $180,000 as three new trucks were previously scheduled for purchase.
“Residents should not be surprised to see what looks like a traditional garbage truck picking up their recycling and throwing it in the back of the truck – it is not destined for the landfill,” Mrs. Leighton added. “It is still going to the recycling facility, only now technology has stepped in to do what was previously done by the hands of our crews.”
Every recycling truck will be replaced with a rear loading truck as its life cycle expires. In a few years, the City will be able to switch over to carts for recycling collection instead of small recycling bins.
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