Single Stream Recyling

I came home from Maine last week to find a very giant recycling receptacle in front of the house. (Two actually. One for the neighbors and one for us.)

Here's the skinny from Mayor Mumbles:
The City of Boston is investigating ways to increase participation, tonnage, and cleanliness of its weekly curbside recycling collection program. Therefore, the Public Works and Transportation Department (PWTD) is conducting "Recycle More, Trash Less" pilots. The pilots test the feasibility of collecting residential recyclables mixed together in one enclosed recycling container. This collection method is known in the recycling industry as "single-stream" collection.

As a former green collar worker, I was mightily pleased at the idea of not having to sort but just keeping it all in one big container. The tough part is the logistics with in the home. I guess what I'll do is have my trash can for regular waste and then have another trash can for all the recycling, since I no longer have to sort. However, I can't put a plastic bag liner in the recycling container, because those are recyclable.

Here's a question and answer I picked up from the Wisconsin FAQ Single Stream page.


1. What is single stream recycling?

Single stream (also known as “fully commingled”) recycling refers to a system in
which all paper fibers and containers are mixed together in a collection truck, instead of being sorted into separate commodities (newspaper, cardboard, plastic, glass, etc.) by the resident and handled separately throughout the collection process. In single stream, both the collection and processing systems must be designed to handle this fully commingled mixture of recyclables.

And here's a "how it works" video on Single Stream Recycling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_RWqgXcP_k&feature=related

Fun times!