Dive Brief:

• The city of Salem, Massachusetts has successfully diverted 300 tons of trash since it adopted a recycling ordinance on July 1, 2013.

• Residents are required to participate in bi-weekly recycling collections, which was approved by City Council.

• The savings generated from the new recycling program have been around $20,000 during the six months the ordinance has been in effect.

Dive Insight:

The city's recycling services are dual-stream so the city is able to sell the cardboard it collects for a $20 per ton profit. Salem plans to establish a pilot composing sometime next year, in the hopes of diverting a larger volume of materials from the landfill. 1,500 households are expected to take part in the curbside organics collection program.

The state of Massachusetts has been at the forefront of establishing a food composting program for commercial institutions, and is working on creating a ban by 2014. In addition, a proposal is in the works to include a ban on household organic waste by 2020.