Recycling surging with curbside pickup

- The amount of recyclable materials collected in Evansville has more than doubled since curbside pickup was changed and expanded in March.

The result has manifested itself in increased participation, job creation and a reduction of waste going into Laubscher Meadows landfill.

There were 188 tons picked up in February, the last full month on the city's old collection program, and 446 tons picked up in June, according to the latest figures supplied to the city by Republic Services - previously known as Allied Waste.

Republic Services contracts with the city to collect garbage and operate the landfill, and separately contracts with the city to provide curbside recycling to every household using 96-gallon carts. At the same time, residents were provided with a single 96-gallon cart for garbage, too, and told that all garbage must be contained in the one cart. Additional garbage containers are provided for a $100 fee.

Previously, residents had to request to participate in recycling, and were only then provided much smaller 18-gallon totes in which they were asked to separate the materials.

Under the new program, residents can mix recyclable materials together in the new carts and the materials are sorted using new equipment and processes at Tri-State Resource Recovery (TRRC), the nonprofit organization that receives them.

Participation is easier since carts are provided to all households, but using them is not mandatory. However, participation has increased since the new system started.

According to Republic's figures, the rate of participation has gone from 39 percent in February to 62 percent in June.

That is roughly twice the national rate of participation in urban recycling programs, said Brian Whitesell, general manager of TRRC. He cited studies showing national participation rates estimated between 27 and 33 percent.

"Participation is well above the national average. That tells us residents have accepted the program," Whitesell said. "They wanted to recycle more. The ease of the program has made that possible."

Ed Ziemer, Evansville deputy director of utilities, agreed the new cart system makes recycling easier, but he had another take on why participation increased.

"People want to make room in their trash container, so they are recycling as many things as they can," he said.

Whitesell said TRRC, which also receives recyclables from outside the city and from Warrick, Gibson and Henderson (Ky.) counties, has seen the total tons it receives each month increase from 1,200 to 2,700.

This has allowed TRRC to add 12 full-time positions to the seven jobs it already provided, Whitesell said. The positions are filled by residents from the city's Urban Enterprise Zone and participants in the Volunteers of America residential program that helps prisoners return to society.

More recyclables collected means less waste going into the landfill, said Joe Ballard, executive director of the Vanderburgh County Solid Waste Management District, whose job it is to encourage waste reduction.

"I'm very pleased. I think it has gone very well. I'm really encouraged about the new system," he said.

Those involved agreed there is still hope that participation will increase even more.

"I think there is room for more participation, but we are very pleased," Ziemer said.