Cutting the cost of recycling

One of the least expensive ways to reduce recycling program costs is to manage the material menu effectively. There is sufficient program operating data to determine the costs associated with collecting specific materials, and this can be used to adjust the material flows and collection procedures to reduce costs.

Historically, most municipalities sponsor the collection of newspaper, glass and aluminum containers. Recent additions to the typical menu include steel food and paint cans, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) containers. New materials are added to the menu in response to public pressure, to help achieve recycling goals and to direct tonnage from landfilling.

The average cost of collecting individual materials on the menu can be estimated using recycling route costs and collected material volumes. For example, a typical recycling crew costs approximately $148,310 per year, according to a National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) study. Average collection costs per material may be determined by comparing the crew costs to the volume each material occupies in the collection vehicle.

For example, newspaper uses 40 percent of the vehicle space, so 40 percent of the route costs — $59,324 — per year may be apportioned to newspaper collection. If the crew collects 820 tons of newspaper per year (as estimated in the NSWMA model), the average cost per ton to collect newspaper is $72. If a crew collects only 400 tons per year, the average cost would be $148.

Glass and newspaper are the most economical materials to collect to achieve weight-based recycling goals. With the exception of aluminum, the average collection costs per ton are significantly greater than the revenue received for the material and, in some cases, the costs of collecting certain materials is far more than the landfill tipping fee. For example, in a typical American recycling program, steel cans cost an average of $240 per ton to collect, plastic costs an average of $1,089 per ton to collect, and newspaper costs an average of $72 per ton to collect.

The level of contaminants in a program also affects the costs of collection. For example, many recycling programs advertise that type one and two plastics are recyclable when, in fact, over 100 types of containers, many of which are not recyclable, are labelled type one or two; most plastic recyclers only want soda and/or milk bottles. People, however, tend to set out all types of plastic for collection. Public works collectors tend to collect the material (even if contaminated) rather than take the chance of a resident voicing a complaint.

If, as in many local programs, a third of the plastics collected are not marketable, then, according to the NSWMA model, approximately 10 percent of the annual recycling crew costs (or $14,000 per crew) would be spent collecting unusable and unmarketable material. This hard cost data may be used in educating the public (and elected officials) as to the reasons for program modifications including curbside enforcement of setout specifications.

Lastly the type, number and configuration of the setout container(s) directly affects the costs of operating any recycling program. For example, it takes about 25 seconds to load a typical resident’s recyclables into the truck assuming the collector has to make two trips to the curb to pick up the material. Two trips per setout are common in areas where residents use small setout containers (i.e., 7-gallon buckets).

If the material menu includes plastics, the size of the setout container(s) should be increased to 20 gallons. The goal of using a larger container is to reduce the number of trips to the curb to one, reducing the service time per stop to 17 seconds. The resulting decrease in service time per stop directly affects route productivity. Theoretically, 30 percent more stops per day could be collected by increasing the size of setout container from 7 to 20 gallons and stacking the newspaper bundle on top.

Also, round setout containers with full-size handles are more efficient to service than rectangular containers as the collector can pull two round containers to the truck simultaneously while a blue box has to be lifted and carried individually.