Do towns make any money from recycling?

Question

I am concerned because my town recycles, but does not seperate aluminum from bottles and plastics. Is this a normal practice? Can seperating generate revenue?

Answer 1

My understanding is the same as Growl's.

Aluminum cans will "make" money.   But for almost everything else, once you take into the account the cost of collecting a second, separate waste stream (recyclables), and sorting the materials, they don't generate income.   You may save some money on disposal, but it won't result in net income - just lower costs.

It's hard to convince people that they should pay more for waste disposal so that things should be recycled rather than being put in the (less expensive) landfill.

Answer 2

Except for aluminum, recycling rarely generates income for a town. However it can greatly reduce the cost of disposing trash in other ways.

About 12 years ago, the town I lived in in NJ published a report on recycling. When they started recycling cardboard 15 years early they got $25/ton. At the time of the report they had to pay $20/ton. This was cheaper than paying $35/ton to incinerate cardboard. Similar analysis probably applies to most recycling. I cost money but it is cheapet than the alternative.

Answer 3

yes they do.

i was told that our small town is paid $1 million by it's recycler.

AND, at the same time, we combined our paper with our glass, aluminum, plastic, etc.,  and they divide it up.

we had a divided barrel with a hinge on top that let water into the  barrel when it rained.  it's my guess that it was better for them to have dry paper, and all mixed together than wet paper.  in addition sometimes people just mixed stuff, and they had to separate it all anyway.

besides aluminum, glass has a deposit that the recycler can recover, and scrap steel can be sold.  i don't know about plastics, but there must be something that pays them to do that.

Edit:  <<It's hard to convince people that they should pay more for waste disposal so that things should be recycled rather than being put in the (less expensive) landfill.>>

that depends on where you are.  landfills in new york city are very expensive.  and anywhere else where there is a high demand for the land driving the price up.

Answer 4

I agree with the first two answers: aluminum is one of the few things that they can possibly get anything back.

Answer 5

Aluminum is one of the few materials that can be recycled for a profit by the general public.  Most other materials, such as plastic and paper, actually cost to recycle, but there is a moral gain, in that you are not clogging up a landfill with something that will take longer to decompose that way.  Sometimes the cheapest effort isn't the best.

If you save your aluminum separate from your other recycling and take it to a recycling center, you should be able to get paid for it, on average $3-5 per garbage bag full (uncrushed).  Call your local recycling center for more information.