Volume discounting at Northampton’s landfill has the effect of reducing the cost per ton of waste deposited there by major commercial haulers. In fact, one hauler alone constitutes about 25% of DPW solid waste revenues. As well, while the city recycles paper, containers, mattresses, TV and computer screens, and metal, Northampton has only a modest program in place that encourages the recycling of other goods like used luggage and furniture, goods that often are thrown away at the end of the day. Moreover, Northampton’s recycling rate is less than what it could be and sits below 50%. It’s been rumored that owners of rental units in Northampton don’t do all that they could to improve recycling rates but I’m aware of no survey taken to substantiate that claim. Meanwhile the city is taking a hard look at expanding its garbage footprint in the western region of the city, over a fresh water aquifer. While city leaders and special interest groups rest comfortably on Northampton’s progressive credentials, the city’s waste management practices could be more forward thinking. Can we do better? Well, at least we could try. Here are excerpts from an article giving some examples. Surf the web for awhile and you’ll find many more:
Click here for full text of the USA TODAY article by Charisse Jones
Through RecycleBank, a New York-based company that has relationships with more than 400 businesses, residents can accumulate the points and redeem them for vouchers worth up to $400 a year at local businesses and national chain stores such as Ikea and Whole Foods, says Ron Gonen, the company’s co-founder.
Emphasis on reusing
Though Americans recycled 82 million tons of trash in 2006, compared with 69 million in 2000, recycling rates are increasing at a slower rate than during the 1980s and ’90s when many states and communities began mandating the practice, says Ed Skernolis, director of policy and programs for the National Recycling Coalition.
Incentive programs such as RecycleBank, however, along with increasing demand for recycled materials and escalating concerns about climate change, can refocus attention on reusing, he says.
"We think those forces are converging to create a positive climate for recycling," Skernolis says. In particular, "we’re a big proponent of incentive programs because most have been demonstrated to have a powerful impact on participation rates in communities."
RecycleBank, launched in 2004, is an updated version of programs that make it financially beneficial to recycle. Some communities, for example, charge residents for the trash they throw out but little or nothing for recyclables they discard.
Expansion in the works
As a result of agreements between RecycleBank and trash haulers or municipalities, more than 130,000 households in the nine states currently participate in the rewards-for-recyling program.
Instead of separating glass from newspaper, homeowners can toss everything into a single bin that contains a radio frequency ID tag bearing their address and account information.
Specially equipped trucks that dump the containers scan the tag and wirelessly transmit the weight of the load to RecycleBank. With an average household generating 80 pounds of recyclables a month, residents can earn up to 5,400 points a year.
Residents can go online to see how many points they’ve earned. They can also see how many trees and gallons of oil their recycling efforts have saved. It’s that glimpse of her own ecological footprint that makes Lea Arbely more excited about recycling.
Landfills last longer
Cherry Hill, a Philadelphia suburb that is home to 72,000 residents, pays a per-household fee for the program that adds up to roughly $400,000 a year, says mayoral spokesman Dan Keashen.
The cost is offset, however, by the amount of money saved by disposing less garbage in an incinerator or landfill, he says. The amount of recyclables picked up last week after the new recycling program went citywide jumped 155% from the same week last year, rising from 125 to 319 tons, Keashen says.
The town also gets a portion of the money earned when the recycled materials are sold on the commodities market. Officials hope to save roughly $2 million over the next five years, Keashen says.
