Recycling changes move forward

By Dan MacArthur
Fossil Creek Current

Recycling is becoming simpler for Fort Collins residents and more lucrative for Larimer County.

Still unclear is whether all will pay the cost for expanding curbside recycling if trash haulers are forced to pass on increased expenses to customers

"Recycling is the right thing to do, but everyone needs to realize there's a substantial cost," said Matt Gallegos of Gallegos Sanitation Inc. "In the end the consumers are going to pay."

"The part about it costing more is dubious," countered Fort Collins senior environmental planner Susie Gordon.

The expansion of curbside recycling was made possible by changes at the county's recycling center enabling it to accept cardboard, brown paper bags and paperboard such as cereal and shoe boxes as part of the mix of materials collected curbside.

The changes allow haulers to move toward a so-called "single stream" collection in which all types of recyclables--aluminum and steel cans, glass and plastic bottles, newspapers and magazines, and cardboard and paperboard - could be placed in the same curbside container and be mixed together in the same collection truck.

Advocates contend such single-stream systems divert significantly greater amounts from the landfill by making it more convenient for residents to recycle a broader range of materials

Haulers, however, can continue collecting recyclables as they currently do and are not required to convert to a single-stream system, stressed Stephen Gillette, the county's solid-waste director.

"We're not pushing anyone into changing," he said. "All we did is offer it to the haulers."

Haulers serving Fort Collins, however, did get at least a strong nudge in that direction. Immediately following the county's announcement, the city in turn announced that haulers would be required to provide curbside collection of cardboard and paperboard in addition to the other recyclables already collected.

The mandate applying to single-family homes takes effect at the start of next year, but the service may not be available immediately because the city granted haulers a six-month phase-in period to implement the change. Those demonstrating a hardship can request a six-month extension. Customers should call their haulers to determine when they will begin collecting cardboard and paperboard.

The move was part of Fort Collins' continuing effort to divert half of the city's waste stream from the landfill by 2010. Officials estimate the new curbside collection requirement will increase the city's current 25 percent diversion rate by 3 to 5 percent.

The same mandate does not apply to haulers offering recycling collection outside the city, although they may choose to expand the range of materials collected. Customers, once again, should check with their haulers.

Residents also can continue dropping off their recyclables directly at the Larimer County Recycling Center on Taft Hill Road south of Fort Collins. The full range of materials are accepted for recycling there at no cost.

The chain of developments was sparked by a fundamental change in recycling philosophy and technology. "There's been a fairly monumental shift in the industry," said Gordon. "In the course of the next year things may change considerably."

That shift is evidenced by the recent opening of a single-stream materials recovery facility in Denver. The MRF is operated by the Recycle America Alliance, a subsidiary of Waste Management, the nation's leading provider of waste and environmental services. The massive MRF is capable of processing 30 tons of mixed recyclable materials every hour.

The MRF makes it possible for haulers to convert to a single-stream recycling collection system. Although the quality of the recyclables can be diminished because of contamination, Gordon said MRFs offer the advantage of boosting the volume of materials recycled by as much as 20 percent. For that reason they are considered the way of the future in recycling.

To prepare for that future, when the contract for operating the recycling center expired, the county requested bids for proposals to expand recycling while reducing the $400,000 to $700,000 a year the county spent to subsidize the center, Gillette said.

He said the new operating contract with the Recycle America Alliance is accomplishing that goal. Now, Gillette said, the county is earning at least $10,000 a month and recycling volumes should increase by 8 to as much as 30 percent with the greater convenience of single-stream collection.

Gillette said the county, in its search for additional ways to reduce the waste stream, will conduct a study next spring identifying additional materials that can be recycled. "I want to put the landfill out of business," he said.

Haulers, however, do not necessarily share Gillette's sunny vision and question just how much additional material will be diverted through expanded curbside recycling and what that will cost.

Although haulers in Fort Collins are forbidden from charging extra for recycling, they say those costs unavoidably must be reflected in the base costs of providing service. But haulers, already squeezed by rising fuel prices, are reluctant to pass on the additional cost for expanding curbside recycling in a competitive market where all are struggling to maintain their share.

Dan DeWaard, northern Colorado director of Operations for Waste Management, acknowledged that increasing costs are creating a similar crunch for his company, although recycling is only part of the cause. He, however, did not believe the expanded recycling mandates in Fort Collins would add significant costs for his company.

Gallegos said the additional recycling mandates particularly pinch independent, locally owned haulers such as GSI that are operating with thin profit margins. He said they can't afford to swallow additional costs as larger companies can.

"We don't have the deep pockets to hold out," Gallegos said. "We're not making tons of money doing what we're doing by any means."

But Gallegos said the bigger question is whether claims about the increase of materials diverted through a single-stream system justify the additional costs that inevitably will be passed on to consumers.

"People are going to pay one way or another," he said.