Baltimore recycling officials know the city?s new single-stream recycling plan won?t yield positive monetary returns anytime soon ? and they?re more than OK with that fact.
“It?s not about revenue. We?d love to get to a point where we?re breaking even, but that?s a ways away,” said M. Celeste Amato of the city?s Initiative for a Cleaner Greener Baltimore. “It?s about the environment ? saving landfill space is more important to us.”
Beginning Jan. 8, the city will abandon its previous “Blue Bag Monday” plan to make way for single-stream recycling. The current system had been in place for about 15 years, and officials are ready for change.
“Logistically, the blue-bag system hasn?t been the best for residents and us, operationally,” said Valentina Ukwuoma, head of the city?s Bureau of Solid Waste. “This new plan provides better efficiency and service.”
In the previous dual-collection plan, city residents would be responsible for gathering their bottles and cans to be collected on the second and fourth Mondays of the month. The resident also had to collect paper to be picked up on the second and fourth Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday of the month. That didn?t include regular trash pickups.
Mondays caused thebiggest headaches with the previous plan, as government holidays usually fall on Mondays, causing disruptions in recycling pickups and ultimately more work for city employees and greater costs for the city.
Under the new system, all recyclables can be put out the day residents would normally have their paper picked up. Mondays will no longer be recycling pickup days. Residents need only toss their recyclables in a marked container or recyclable box. Just no plastic bags, which officials urge people to throw out or bring back to the grocery store.
The city collects about 14,000 tons of recyclables each year, said Tonya Simmons, the city?s recycling coordinator. The city hopes a simpler system will lead to increased participation, because the more people recycle, the cheaper the process becomes for the city.
“If it?s not simple, people won?t do it,” Simmons said.
The city signed a one-year contract with three separate option years with Waste Management to participate in single-stream recycling. Amato said the city opted for a one-year deal because other single-stream providers will likely submit bids in the future, and after using the plan for a year, the city might be able to negotiate a more cost-effective deal in the future.
For more information on the single-stream process, visit www.clean ergreenerbaltimore.com.
Garbage to gold
Recycling creates 1.1 million U.S. jobs, $236 billion in gross annual sales and $37 billion in annual payrolls, according to the National Recycling Coalition.
