Municipal recycling programs and the secondary commodities they divert are experiencing mixed results

Recycling Today, March, 2005

Municipalities in the United States have taken a variety of approaches toward setting up curbside collection programs and drop-off centers. Factors affecting municipal recycling programs, such as the cost of landfill tipping fees and the availability of local end markets, also vary regionally or by state and have an effect on the recyclables collected.

The demand for scrap paper, plastics and metals is strong globally, spurring private sector companies to look to municipal programs as a bountiful source of material. Glass, a traditionally collected material, is not shipped globally and is facing de-emphasis in many quarters as a desirable material. Our Municipal Recycling Supplement will look at these issues as well as ways to increase the recycling rate for plastics and the success that scrap recycler Schupan & Sons has had handling containers covered through Michigan's deposit and return law.