New Report Focuses on Curbside Recycling Options

SWANA’s Applied Research Foundation report examines three case studies

Silver Spring, MD – The Solid Waste Association of North America's (SWANA) Applied Research Foundation (ARF) has released a new report, Curbside Recycling Collection Options, which presents three curbside recycling options for recycling and sustainability program managers to consider in their efforts to reduce inbound contamination of recyclables and/or recyclables collection costs.

“Many people don’t realize that collection represents the largest cost element of a residential recycling program”, said Jeremy O’Brien, SWANA’s Director of Applied Research. “This report documents the significant costs savings, as well as reductions in contamination, that can be achieved by implementing one of these recycling collection alternatives.”

The report presents performance and cost data—as well as case studies—for each of these options. Each option provides a way for communities to achieve cost savings that would more than cover the reduction in revenues caused by the China National Sword policy implemented in 2018.

“SWANA would like to thank the six cities (Charlotte, NC; Clearwater, FL; Durham, NC; Pensacola, FL; Phoenix, AZ and Tucson, AZ) that identified this research topic and provided funding to support this research through their ARF subscriptions,” O’Brien added.

It is SWANA’s expectation that this report will serve as a valuable and timely reference document for solid waste, recycling, and sustainability managers as they evaluate recycling collection options that can significantly reduce costs and/or contamination associated with their current services.

The full report, Curbside Recycling Collection Options, is currently only available to SWANA ARF subscribers. SWANA members receive free access to ARF industry reports one year after publication.

To download the executive summary, click here.

To learn more about SWANA and SWANA’s Applied Research Foundation, visit https://swana.org/resources/research.