The City of Philadelphia's recycling numbers have dropped from last year's total tonnage. Last year, the City collected 43,000 tons, this year [ending June 30], the number dropped by 3 tons 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.
In the seventeen year history of the City's recycling program, Philadelphians have never recycled more than 7% of their trash. The City's initial goal of 50% - later reduced to >35% - looks like a far off dream. But why.
In a small incentive-based pilot program including about 2500 homes has produced some nice results. In Chestnut Hill, recycling has triped and in West Oak Lane, recycling has quadrupled. The incentives come in the form of reward coupons topping out at $30/month in discounts.
City Controller Jonathan A. Saidel says that the City could save $17M if households would recycle more than 35% of their trash a year.
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.
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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.
What can be done to make the 50% goal a reality without breaking the bank? Or first, how can we make a 15% goal a reality? What cities have programs that work and how can the people of Philadelphia take this into their own hands?
For more information on Philadelphia's recycling program and to see what days to set out your recyclables, head to RecyclingPays.
We've been bringing our
We've been bringing our cardboard and plastics about once a month to city drop offs. I'm not quite sure why the city doesn't collect plastics or cardboard curbside like most other cities. I just assumed it was a cost/benefit issue.
The most recent ad campaign put on by the city -- Recycle or the recycling police will fine you -- was pretty lame.
R-R-R
I Reduce, Reuce and Recycle as much as I can. When we moved, we scrounged for boxes at local bars, grocery stores and markets and made out big. I didn't buy a single one of the 20 [30?] boxes used for the move, but now we have 20+ boxes in our apartment with no way of getting them to a drop off as we are w/o a car.
And plastics. My god, why not plastics? I'd think that there are more plastic things being thrown out than glass. I reuse plastic containers until they stink, but then, I gotta chuck them. I have friends who have started their own [plastic] container container garden in their backyard, pretty cool. I gotta get over there and have a looksly for myself too. I've recycled plastics for as long as I can remember [I grew up in the 'burbs of NYC] and I still instinctively wash out the plastic 1/2 gallon milk containers as if I were going to place them in the blue bin.