By 
By Wes Muir, Director of Communications, Waste Management
Since November 15 is America Recycles Day, this is an appropriate time to take a step back and consider what we can be doing better for the planet. From a resource management perspective, the four Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle and recover – have long guided solutions for dealing with the abundance of waste produced on a daily basis.
Building on this principle, communities and neighborhoods around the U.S. have joined to support waste reduction by participating in curbside recycling programs that enable every person to have a positive impact on the environment. In turn, roughly 33 percent of paper and cardboard waste is recovered and processed in the United States, according to a 2007 report from the EPA.
You may be thinking, “Only 33 percent? Shouldn’t this rate be higher?” It should, and it can be.
A process called “single stream” simplifies the recycling process so that we can more easily and efficiently discard paper, plastic, glass and cans. Instead of separating these materials into different containers, single-stream recycling allows you to place everything into one bin. To accommodate for the extra recyclables, the bins used for single-stream recycling are larger and placed on wheels. This makes the bins easier to maneuver and reduces the number of pickups needed to deliver your items to a materials recovery facility, or MRF. The convenience of single-stream recycling greatly increases participation, resulting in the recovery of up to 30 percent more recyclable materials.
During the single-stream process, recyclable materials are separated at the MRF. Instead of sending around a separate recycling-only truck to collect your bins, everything can be collected in an ordinary trash collection truck. This lowers expenses for collection, and further streamlines the recycling process. Once materials are brought to the facility, they are then efficiently sorted and recovered using a number of new waste technologies. To see a short video from Waste Management and Discovery Channel about how this process works, click here.
Waste Management is focused on making it easier for people to recycle and is the first major solid waste company to focus on single-stream recycling. So far, the company has seen much success in communities where single-stream recycling has been implemented. Presently, Waste Management operates 32 single-stream facilities across the country, and an additional four will either begin construction or open this year.
Waste Management (WM), operates nearly 100 recycling plants in the U.S. It also processes recyclables in 109 of the 500 communities across North America that have single-stream collection. WM’s largest single stream facility, in terms of volume, located in Elkridge, Maryland has seen at least a 35 to 40 percent increase in volume of recyclables. And in some cases, the increase in recycling rates has been much higher. For example, in Murphy, Texas, a small community outside of Dallas, switching to single-stream increased the recyclables collected by nearly 300 percent
Single-stream recycling saves money, time and makes it easier than ever for communities to be greener. Additionally, recycling materials such as paper, glass, and metal at these facilities helps protect valuable natural resources, save energy, promote clean air and water, and conserve landfill space. This America Recycles Day – and every day – be sure to consider the possibilities and watch for single-stream recycling to come to your community.
