Simpler rules boost recycling

Bottles, jugs streaming in after company modifies its restrictions on plastics

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Bob Moser

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

If you make it simple, they will recycle.

 

That’s the advice the American Plastics Council gave to Rumpke Recycling, and for the past year, streamlining the rules for recyclables in central Ohio has paid off in plastic.

 

More at:

 

http://dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/06/03/20060603-D1-00.html

Does anyone know if Cleveland offers curb side recycling with regualr trash pick up?

Does anyone know if Cleveland offers curb side recycling with regualr trash pick up?

Jmjr, I've answered this question for you already.  However, you could EASILY look this information up on the city of clevelands website.  :wink: :roll: :wink:

You did????  Sorry I missed that! 

 

Feel free to:  :whip:

 

but you may need to get me:  :drunk: first

 

before you become:  :evil:

 

But really, thanks and forgive my lack of memory!

As of October, 15,000 Cleveland residents will take part in a pilot automated waste collection system. Each household in the program will receive one 96-gallon grey or black can for garbage and one 64-gallon blue can for recyclables. They will receive the cans for FREE!!!

 

No information is available yet on which neighborhoods are taking part in the pilot program.

With scrap metal prices through the roof, I bet you could just put a container of cans or other metal outside and someone would just grab it anyway.

The down side of this is local schools with recycling programs that are used to raise money will suffer.

My kids school was just chosen as one of 78 schools nation wide for a pilot program that will recycle drink pouches. Its the same company that uses 20 ox drink bottles for worm poo.

Terra-cycle.

The PD had a nice little article about deconstructing abandoned houses rather than demolishing them.  I really hope this practice catches on.  So many great old building materials that can be salvaged.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/07/_scott_shaw_the_plain.html

One thing I'm curious about as one of the people in the test-pilot recycling program for Cleveland. Since the "carts" used in place of garbage cans are much larger than most standard garbage cans, we can usually skip a week. Now supposing there are plenty of others in the same boat, do you suppose there's any measurable fuel savings from the trucks not having to idle at every single house?

The PD had a nice little article about deconstructing abandoned houses rather than demolishing them.  I really hope this practice catches on.  So many great old building materials that can be salvaged.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/07/_scott_shaw_the_plain.html

 

Most newer houses come with such garbage wood trim, doors and whatnot that it would be really nice to replace the original trash with stuff from older homes.

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=15747

 

<b>Downtown Recycling Pilot Program in the Works</b>

 

<img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/archives/recycle.jpg">

 

Capital Crossroads, The City of Columbus, and The Ohio Department of Natural Resources are pitching together to potentially fund a new downtown business recycling program that could end up being a model for new recycling programs spread throughout other neighborhoods in the city.

 

Nearly 40 businesses and building owners downtown are looking to participate in this pilot program that is planning to offer free recycling dumpsters and pickup service for businesses to utilize.

 

No timeline for the program is known yet, as the funding and waste audits are still pending, but some speculate that it could be up and running before the end of the year. If the pilot program proves successful, the plan could easily be duplicated for other neighborhoods and communities outside of downtown.

Recently, WJU had a forum on campus which was attended by the mayor and other movers and shakers in the city of Wheeling. You can read more about it in the Wheeling Developments Thread.

 

Anywho, one of the points a student brought up was that the city needs to do a better job of being green. Mayor McKenzie acknowledged this, but also stated that the costs would be simply too high - at least with respect to building a recycling facility. The volume of recyclables needed to break even far outweighs Wheeling's output.

 

It was at this point that I had an idea: Would it not be possible for the Steubenville-Weirton and Wheeling MSAs to build a recycling facility (located in Wheeling, of course) to handle the recyclables of the whole valley? I know it's basically conjecture, but I was wondering if there was any precedent for this. Perhaps those here better versed in urban issues can help out.  :clap:

One thing I'm curious about as one of the people in the test-pilot recycling program for Cleveland. Since the "carts" used in place of garbage cans are much larger than most standard garbage cans, we can usually skip a week. Now supposing there are plenty of others in the same boat, do you suppose there's any measurable fuel savings from the trucks not having to idle at every single house?

 

So how's this program been?  We just got notice yesterday that our sparkling new trash/recycling cans will be arriving soon.

<b>More on Columbus Curbside Recycling, Other Green Initiatives</b>

By Walker | February 26, 2010 11:00am

 

<img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/archives/get-green-columbus.jpg">

 

One of the biggest announcements to come out of Wednesday’s <a href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/coleman-delivers-2010-state-of-the-city-address">2010 State of the City Address</a> was Mayor Coleman’s proposal for a comprehensive curbside recycling program targeted at single-family homes throughout Columbus. Coleman stated that the recycling program would be created through a public input process this year and is currently proposing a system that would combine recycling and yard waste on a rotation schedule.

 

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/more-on-curbside-recycling-other-green-initiatives

<b>Columbus Curbside Recycling Program Unveiled</b>

By Walker | July 28, 2010

 

<img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/featured/images/recycling2010.jpg">

 

Mayor Coleman and other city and community leaders unveiled their recommendations for a comprehensive curbside recycling program today. The program was put together utilizing information gathered from a recent community survey to gauge public opinion on various types of recycling options.

 

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/columbus-curbside-recycling-program-unveiled

Rumpke shows off recycling rebuild

 

Nine months after a fire nearly destroyed Rumpke’s recycling plant in St. Bernard, construction has started on a $32 million, 85,000-square-foot facility. The plant is scheduled to be fully operational on Nov. 1, Rumpke officials said Thursday.

 

Rumpke officials visited 10 of the top recycling centers across the nation and Canada before developing the project. The facility – being built on the same site as the center that burned, at 5535 Vine St. – will be able to process up to 15,000 tons of materials per month, more than doubling the 7,300 tons handled by the previous system.

 

The facility’s new technology will allow the company to process and make four types of paper compared to two in the previous facility, said Steve Sargent, Rumpke’s corporate director of recycling. The center also will have an improved glass removal and cleaning system. That will allow Rumpke to expand sales to companies that use large amounts of glass such as bars and restaurants.

 

“We’ve built capacity for the future,” Jeff Rumpke said. “We’re going to be looking for more material.”

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/better_neighborhoods/25000-additional-cleveland-households-now-required-to-recycle

 

"Cleveland public works leaders stressed failure to properly sort waste into recyclables, consistent failure to set out recycling bins, or under-utilizing the recycling bins will result in a fine."

 

I can see some "interesting" places this could go.

 

Will they fine people for not rinsing/crushing/separating cans et al?

 

How about UBC?  The stuff is worth about $0.70/lb, which is 28 cans.  If someone chooses to sell it rather than pay to have it hauled off, is that a fine?

 

 

https://fox8.com/news/i-team/i-team-all-recyclables-in-cleveland-going-to-the-landfill/

 

ok, what in the heck can we do about this as a resident in Cleveland? This is probably the first thing that has made me livid about the city. We spend tons of time in our household rinsing recyclables, breaking down boxes, and following every guideline to make sure that our recycleables will actually be recycled and now I'm finding out it's just going to the landfill anyway?! Who do I call/write/contact to make this a priority to get fixed?

22 hours ago, dastler said:

https://fox8.com/news/i-team/i-team-all-recyclables-in-cleveland-going-to-the-landfill/

 

ok, what in the heck can we do about this as a resident in Cleveland? This is probably the first thing that has made me livid about the city. We spend tons of time in our household rinsing recyclables, breaking down boxes, and following every guideline to make sure that our recycleables will actually be recycled and now I'm finding out it's just going to the landfill anyway?! Who do I call/write/contact to make this a priority to get fixed?

I am the first person to complain about the City’s operations because they are almost always incompetent, but this is a problem of a national scale. It’s just hard to recycle because China isn’t taking our junk anymore and the US isn’t set up to handle mixed recyclables. We need to solve the larger issue.

Edited April 30, 20205 yr by Enginerd

I've been in touch with Kerry McCormack and he said he's already reached out to the city about it. He suggested as citizens we can email Darnell Brown, the city's Chief Operating Officer. His email is [email protected]

2 hours ago, dastler said:

I've been in touch with Kerry McCormack and he said he's already reached out to the city about it. He suggested as citizens we can email Darnell Brown, the city's Chief Operating Officer. His email is [email protected]

 

Ah yes, Darnell Brown, the former water meter-reader turned Chief Operating Officer.   Somehow whenever some scandal with city contracts or employees is exposed, the buck never stops with him.   Jackson might be smart to make a change at this position.   

This follow up from the Scene is from last week, but I hadn't seen it posted here.   This still burns me up--the City of Cleveland is practically alone with the other 50+ communities in the county recycling.  

 

Cuyahoga County Reminds Residents All Communities Besides Cleveland Still Actually Recycling

 

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/04/30/cuyahoga-county-reminds-residents-all-communities-besides-cleveland-still-actually-recycling

55 minutes ago, Cleburger said:

This follow up from the Scene is from last week, but I hadn't seen it posted here.   This still burns me up--the City of Cleveland is practically alone with the other 50+ communities in the county recycling.  

 

Cuyahoga County Reminds Residents All Communities Besides Cleveland Still Actually Recycling

 

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/04/30/cuyahoga-county-reminds-residents-all-communities-besides-cleveland-still-actually-recycling

 

I would not be surprised if other cities are doing the same as Cleveland on the qt.

Other than aluminum cans and limited glass and plastic, the usefulness of post consumer recyclate is grossly exaggerated.

17 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

 

I would not be surprised if other cities are doing the same as Cleveland on the qt.

Other than aluminum cans and limited glass and plastic, the usefulness of post consumer recyclate is grossly exaggerated.

 

I was thinking if Cleveland is having such trouble with contaminated waste, why not must make it aluminum, glass and plastic bottles and cans.   I do wish Ohio would institute a beverage deposit system, which would automatically take care of this.  

I grew up in NY and not having a deposit system is so dumb. Sure, you're just getting your money back but shoot, I've bought cases of beer with my return money, so worth it.

Nothing is worse than using outdated information, especially when it comes from the county government.  Richmond Heights eliminated its curbside recycling program at the start of 2019.  The city's leaders cited increased cost in the new waste hauling contract starting in 2019 and low residential participation rates.  The rates given came in at about 5% to 8% of the city's residents participated in recycling.  If somebody didn't want to leave recyclables at their curbside, they could drop it off at the service garage.  When the recycling program was eliminated, even the recycling dumpsters at the service garage were eliminated.  The low participation rate was not higher due to the city's not having separate containers for recycling.  People had to pile up plastic bags for recycling pick up and hope that it wasn't windy on collection day.

One Richmond Heights city council member predicted that more cities would follow suit due low demand for recyclable materials and increased costs to recycle when it came time for their waste hauling contracts to be renewed.   

Low participation.  The story of America.  Everyone is too lazy to manage anything today.   On my neighborhood Facebook page, people have openly flaunted the recycling program and put mixed waste in the blue cans.  What are they achieving with this?  

NPR in depth story on recycling plastic (or lack there of).    This makes me really sad.  

 

Waste Land 

 

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/912150085/waste-land

 

https://edge2.pod.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/pmoney/2020/09/20200911_pmoney_pmpod1032.mp3/20200911_pmoney_pmpod1032.mp3_a7fb26b1d449c9090b705a4203a1b5ff_23633777.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1150&d=1449&p=510289&story=912150085&t=podcast&e=912150085&dl=1&siteplayer=true&size=23147253&awCollectionId=510289&awEpisodeId=912150085&dl=1&hash_redirect=1&x-total-bytes=23633777&x-ais-classified=download&listeningSessionID=0CD_382_268__8bfe74f6e0e8fc9694fcecbea5b64b73e21a6ae4

I was associated with a company that decided the reason recycling plastic doesn't work is that the recycled product was typically of lower value than the product discarded. They tried to make something MORE valuable in its recycled state than the feedstock.  They decided on building material, specifically wall panels. Economically it DID work, but the company was mismanaged. For some reason (and it wasn't a faulty product), no customer ever reordered.  ☹️

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/state/2020/09/28/ohio-gov-mike-dewine-sign-statewide-ban-plastic-bag-bans-despite-concerns-of-environmentalists/3560654001/

 

Quote

Due to pandemic, DeWine to sign statewide ban on plastic bag bans despite veto request

 

Small government telling small government how to govern.

For Cleveland residents. Found this recycling survey in the ward 3 mailer: 
https://tinyurl.com/ab5srz22

 

For Cleveland residents, info on the city's new opt-in recycling program. 

 

Here’s what you need to know about the city’s new opt-in recycling program

 

After a year-and-a-half long hiatus, curbside recycling is coming back to the city of Cleveland. Clevelanders have until Oct. 22 to opt-in to the new service through an online form or by calling 216-664-3030. Because the program is optional, those who don’t sign up will have their blue bins removed by the Division of Waste Collection.

 

More at: 

 

https://www.thelandcle.org/stories/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-citys-new-opt-in-recycling-program

Welp back to the drawing board.  Hopefully the Bibb administration can figure this out.   It really needs to be a county-wide contract which would benefit the entire region!  

 

Recycling Contractor Jumps Ship, City of Cleveland Back to Square One in Woeful Saga

The City of Cleveland announced Wednesday that it has failed to agree to contract terms with a vendor selected to manage the new curbside recycling program. Roughly 27,000 households registered for the "opt-in" recycling program this summer and fall after a consultant proposed such an arrangement earlier in 2021. Under the new program, theoretically, those who sign up will retain their blue recycling bins and have recyclable materials collected every other week. 

But without a vendor to collect and process that material, the City will have to go out for bids once again. That's a dicey proposition, given that it has now failed to enlist a willing vendor at a sensible price point on three consecutive occasions. 

 

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2021/12/29/recycling-contractor-jumps-ship-city-of-cleveland-back-to-square-one-in-woeful-saga?utm_source=Cleveland+Scene+-+Weekly+Newsletters&utm_campaign=09de94a096-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_01_05_02_48&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_63c629abc4-09de94a096-37375164

https://www.ideastream.org/news/cleveland-plans-to-restart-recycling-program-in-march
 

 

 

Wow I was skimming through the report referenced in the story (https://clecityhall.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/city-of-cleveland-final-report-2-22-2021.pdf) and this table was included highlight just how bad we are in Cleveland at recycling.   I can see being worse, but 30, 40 or even 50% worse than other major cities?   SMH....