12/06/90 Continuance of 11/20/90

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Multi-Materi ~ l Recovery in Communit.~, Recycling Centers Another approach to recycling is through multi-material community recycling centers. These differ from separated coIlection programs in that the participant is required to deliver waste matgrials to a central ~olleet. inn ~nim l-lo n~he ei~hei, gives the ~{~teria] to those operating ~he center or is paid for the materials collected. During the late 1960's, as environmental awareness spread, thousands of collection centers for recycla- bles were set up in the United States. Just as with other source separation approaches, however, there must be an awareness of the interplay among adequate markets, the high cost of transporting collected materials, the ]eve] of participation and the program's success. Start-up and operating costs are relatively low for recycling centers compared with those for high technology resource reeover~2 plants, and the quality of materials recovered can be high because they are hand sorted by residents. (Supervision may be needed to assure that compo- nents are not contaminated when dropped off and during processing.) A community recycling center can be sponsored by industry, a municipality or a private contractor. Many of the centers, particularly those in rural areas, recover material in the solid waste stream that would otherwise be lost. The closing of open dumps, as required by the Resource Conservation Recovery Act, may increase the value to a eom- munity of a recycling center because the amount of mixed waste headed for its landfill or incinerator is reduced. Collection by Volunteer Organizatior~s For many years scouts, churches, civic organizations, schools and other groups have :conducted collection programs for recyclable material. Today, many organizations have multi-rr,:~terial colIection programs. Individuals Collecting Recyelables An increasing number of Americans are earning extra income by collecting and selling old newspapers, used corrugated boxes, magazines, aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles. These individuals establish a regular route and collect the materials for which there is an established market near their collection routes. Private HauLers Private waste haulers have collected recyclable materials predominantly from com- mercial and industrial establishments for as long as recycling has been ongoing in America. In general, private haulers collect materials generated in large volumes. Curbside Collection In curbside separate collection programs, recyclable materials are conveniently col- lected at curbside, rather than having to be transported to a recycling center by house- holders, businesses or other generators of waste. The factors a community must weigh in deciding the number of recyclable materials to collect include: anticipated participation, the comparable cost of centralized separation,. the value of the materials, and the demand for recyclable materials. Trade-offs are involved in the decision. As the number of segments to be separated is increased, there