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- 14 <br /> <br />There are currently 135 recycling centers in the Region listed in <br />.......... ~'s Ma,, 1980 edition of the Recycle It! <br />the Metropo±l~an ~unu~ ~ by non- <br />directory. Approxlmately 70 percent of these are operated <br />profit organizations. There is no reliable data concerning the <br />total quantity of materials processed by these facilities. How- <br />ever, it is reasonable to assume that the vast majority of mate- <br />rials recycled from municipal waste in the Region are handled by <br />recycling centerS. The balance is accounted for by personal <br />reuse, used furniture and clothes exchangeS, and other similar <br />recycling systems. <br /> <br />SOURCE SEPARATION <br /> · n <br />Source separation is defined as the separatxo of materials for <br />individual storage at the source of generation for later pick-up <br />and processing or reuse. Source separation is a very effective <br />materials recovery system because of its inherent flexibility and <br />cost-effectiveness. It differs from most other forms of solid <br />waste processing in that it is decentralized and relies heavily on <br />the continuous participation of the individual generator. <br /> There are many types of source separation, including office paper <br /> recycling programs, mandatory or voluntary curb-side pickup of <br /> recyclables complementing mixed municipal refuse collection, leaf <br /> pickup and other commercial and industrial programs aimed at <br /> specific materials. There are currently several aggressive but <br /> relatively limited source separation programs in the Region. <br /> Several paper processing firms have ongoing office paper recycling <br /> campaigns aimed at capturing the higher quality white office bond <br /> grade material. Four nonprofit recycling centers also provide <br /> curb-side pickup service for recyclables on a voluntary basis. <br /> Two independent haulers have combined refuse removal'service with <br /> a newspaper pickup service for their customers and one firm may <br /> expand pickup service to include other materials in the near <br /> future. One independent scrap processor/redemption center pro- <br /> vides a curb-side pickup service for all recyclable materials in <br /> five neighborhoods in Minneapolis on a voluntary basis. <br /> Curb-side p~cku? programs.across ~he country have proven to be <br /> more effective In increasing participation than neighborhood <br /> recycling centers. This is supported by preliminary results from <br /> a region-wide survey conducted by the Metropolitan Council that <br /> indicated that more people would be willing to participate in a <br /> source separation program if they were provided with curb-side <br /> pickup service. A residential curb-side, source separatio~ <br /> program in Marblehead, MassachusettS, is currently recovering <br /> about 20 percent of the solid waste stream. <br /> Another highly successful curb-side program is the Boca Raton, <br /> Florida, municipal newsprint recovery program, which recovers <br /> about 82 pe{cent of all generated newsprint (MPCA, unp~b, data). <br /> Both communities have adopted mandatory source separation <br /> ordinances, which require the residents to set aside their recy- <br /> clables. Mandatory source separation ordinances are difficult to <br /> enforce (very few programs propose significant enforcement <br /> <br /> <br />