United States - Over the past decade, many municipalities have shifted to a single-stream system of recyclables collection, in which glass, metal, plastic, and paper are collected in a single receptacle. While single-stream collection is more convenient for consumers and results in lower collection costs, it also results in more contamination of collected materials, lower material quality, and increased waste.

Using data from industry reports and interviews with recyclers, CRI has produced "Understanding economic and environmental impacts of single-stream collection systems," a report that highlights the economic and environmental impacts of switching to a single-stream system.

The report provides information on the impact of single-stream collection systems on material quality with respect to remanufacturing and its economic value. For municipalities that are being asked to consider a shift to a single-stream system from a curbside sort or a dualstream (fiber and containers) system, this report attempts to highlight the economic and environmental impacts that this decision may have. The goal is to provide guidance on what strategies to incorporate when considering a single-stream collection system for maximum efficiency and environmental effectiveness.

So this report describes the evolution of single-stream recycling in the United States, the recent downturn in the scrap market for all recyclable materials, and tries to explain factors affecting collection costs. The real purpose of the study, however, is to examine the impacts of singlestream recycling, as compared to other methods, on every step of the recycling process

The study "Analyzing the Economic and Environmental Impacts of Single-Stream Collection Systems" can be downloaded under container-recycling.org.

Quelle: Container Recycling Institute

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