What's the deal with recycling?

[lynxriver]

Well after several visits to the Waste Management recycling center on 4th St (off of Stone in case anyone is interested) it is heartening to see just how many people are making the effort to recycle. I've lived all over the country, and Colorado by far has the WORST record for recycling. When I first moved here over 15 years ago, it was almost impossible to recycle short of paying for limited service through your trash company. In New Hampshire the TOWN gives you a bin and picks up your trash and recycling for free. (Yes the property taxes in NH are insane but there is no state income tax or sales tax...) In Fargo, North Dakota, nearly every grocery store and school has recycling drop-off bins all over town. Tacoma, WA is the "holy grail" of recycling. Whatever they don't pick up at the curb you can haul to this wonderfully organized landfill with little "highway" signs for the different recycling areas. They even take styrofoam and fluorescent tubes for free. I guess the mentality here is we have unlimited space to expand the landfill, so who cares?

I don't think that $5 is too much to pay for a unsorted recycling bin. However Bestway is the MOST expensive trash company in town, except for maybe Waste Management. We use Springs Waste, which only picks up aluminum, newspapers and 1 & 2 plastics, which you have to separate into plastic bags. (I haul everything else up to the W/M center) I've also caught these guys emptying the recycling bin right into the hopper with the trash. We have one of those rolling bins for the trash, and our latest bill is now $54 for 3 months, which has steadily increased every billing cycle due to "fuel and dump charges". I'm going to look into L&L Disposal, which I belive is cheaper but I'm not sure what they do about recycling.

[AaronMoore]

Best Way is a locally owned trash service here in the Springs. They now do unsorted recycling - you get one full size can for all your recyclables and they take it for sorting. Talk to your Apt management - maybe whoever does their trash can provide containers.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by AaronMoore

Best Way is a locally owned trash service here in the Springs. They now do unsorted recycling - you get one full size can for all your recyclables and they take it for sorting. Talk to your Apt management - maybe whoever does their trash can provide containers.

WM also has that "one bin" service, they call it "single stream" recycling. WM charges a 1-time fee of $84 for a big 96-gallon toter that is just like the trash toter, only it has a bright yellow top to differentiate it from the all-green trash toter.

LINKS:
- Waste Management
- Bestway Disposal (http://www.bestwaydisposal.com/bestway/html/index.html - broken link)

[Briar-gator]

I'm happy with Waste Connections Inc/US Waste Systems. They pick up every other week, but you don't have to pay for or rent the cans. WM wanted $85 for each tote. WC takes plastic (1-7), glass, cardboard/paper, cans. We recycle over half of our garbage.

Check out this link to for other recycling around the Springs - El Paso County, Colorado - Solid Waste Management Division (http://adm.elpasoco.com/Environmental_Services/Solid_Waste_Management - broken link) Click on RECYCLING DIRECTORY

[treedonkey]

The "R" Rock Yard at I25 and Baptist road now has bins where you can drop you paper, plastic and aluminum recyclables .

[Mamameko]

I see different companies listed here. Can you choose your own company or does it depend on what neighborhood you live in?

[otowi]

You choose your own.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Mamameko

I see different companies listed here. Can you choose your own company or does it depend on what neighborhood you live in?

If you have an HOA where you live, they probably arrange for it and pay for via HOA dues. That's how we do it in my 'hood; we pay $98 per year here via the HOA, but back east the same service in Fairfax County cost me $360/year.