Dive Brief:
- Cumberland County, NJ, announced savings of $75,000 as a result of adopting single-stream recycling services.
- Officials cite a 16% increase in the recycling rate since co-mingling program went into effect in January 2014.
- According to a news release, 3,692 tons of recyclables were collected in 2014, compared with 3,064 tons of materials in 2013.
Dive Insight:
The Cumberland County Improvement Authority issued a $19,383 rebate due to the recycling rate increase. The city saved $53,804 in disposal costs when it reduced its landfill deliveries by 1,027.19 tons.
In a similar situation in June of 2014, the town of Brookhaven, NY, reported that implementing a single-stream system saved $253,000 in landfill costs since it began the program in January of the same year. The recycling rate rose 24.6% since the program started, generating $34,000 in revenue within a five-month timeframe. Estimates indicate that the volume of recycling per person grew from an average of 7.4 tons per person to 9.1 tons after single-stream was adopted.