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Service director says recycling improving
(by Sue Reid - November 03, 2011)
Service director says recycling improving
By SUE REID
A recycling program in the city of Solon, which began in the late 1980s, continues to improve, Service Director Thomas Bandiera said.
That is especially the case since the city began single-stream recycling four years ago, he said.
"The single-stream program definitely increased participation," Mr. Bandiera said. Residents had been required to separate their recycled items in three containers, one for glass, another for plastic and one for metals.
"We are now able to commingle the items," he said.
As a result, there has been a 34 percent increase in the total tons of recycled items collected since 2007, when single stream began, he said.
In 2007, the city collected slightly more than 956 total tons of recycled items; in 2008, slightly more than 1,068; in 2009, 1198; and 1,333 last year. For 2011, the total predicted based on monthly averages is 1,450 tons, Mr. Bandiera said.
"At one point, we were No. 1 in the country in recycling," compared to like-sized communities, Mr. Bandiera said. That ranking was the big recycling phase hit, he said. It is uncertain where Solon ranks currently, he said, but the city's recycling program has increased steadily each year since the onset of the program.
It has also increased since the city began its automated rubbish collection program in 2008.
Mr. Bandiera said the numbers have increased substantially because people are "more in tune with recycling and with automated collection cart.
"People are thinking more of recycling instead of throwing things out," he said.
There has been a 41 percent increase in the total number of recycling stops collected since 2007, he said. In 2007, there were 108,514 stops; in 2008, 131,655; in 2009, 162,878; in 2010, 178,393; and this year, 183,262 is estimated by year's end.
The city tracks its successes with recycling in tonnage per day, per week and per month and in number of stops, Mr. Bandiera explained.
"The more recycling people are doing, the less tonnage we are paying for to dispose of at the transfer station," he said. "It's keeping our overall cost down."
Since the recycling program began in the city, recycling bags have been sold at a few Solon businesses, Mr. Bandiera said, including Giant Eagle and Solon Valley Hardware.
"The idea was to provide to residents an avenue to be able to get the bags," Mr. Bandiera said. The city buys them in bulk as a way to save costs, and passes that savings onto the businesses.
"The city does not make a profit," Mr. Bandiera said. The businesses also sell the bags at the same cost they bought them, he noted.
The bags are made out of all recycled materials, he said. Besides the Solon locations, those bags have increased in popularity over the years and are sold at a number of home improvement stores, he said.
Mr. Bandiera said that in an effort to educate the community on the benefits of recycling, communication is ongoing. He also said that for new residents moving into the city, his department meets with them one on one to explain the recycling program.
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