Separating recyclables will be a practice of the past for Burlington County residents starting next May with the implementation of streamlined recycling.
The county boasts single-stream as convenient and a way to increase recycling volume as well as save money.
According to the county, studies show single-stream brings with it an increase of 10 percent or more in recycling. The more people recycle, the less waste there is in landfills. Last year, recycling saved the towns more than $3.2 million in landfill tipping fees. Those cost-savings are effectively tax savings, since they improve the bottom line of municipal budgets. Last year, Shamong recycled 795 tons, saving $58,607 in landfill fees.
“Our community has been good about recycling, and with this new system, we think that will continue and improve. Being able to use one bin for all recyclables makes it even easier for our residents to recycle” township administrator Sue Onorato said.
Other townships within the county purchased “big blue carts,” which residents currently use for cardboard and paper and will soon as an all-purpose recycling tool. Shamong Township, however, felt that it would not see the benefits of spending $60,000 for the new recycling carts.
“The county was offering a 50–50 match on the purchase of new carts so we would still have had to put out $60,000 for new recycling bins,” Onorato said at last week’s township committee meeting. “Our trash hauler at the time could not guarantee that our residents would see the savings of the single-stream system.”
Currently, the county is working to find out whether residents are in need of the signature blue cart, or a second cart to supplement the amount of recyclables put to the curb each week. Although Shamong residents will not have the blue cart, their collection service will not be impacted.
“Residents will still be able to put paper along with bottles and cans into the existing yellow bins that they have currently,” Onorato said. “We’ll still be a part of the single-stream system without having to purchase new bins for the entire township.”
The county assured residents that the program is free of charge and the frequency of service will not change. Shamong will still provide a drop-off center for residents who have recyclables between pickups.
Currently, major facility modifications are being made to the Robert C. Shinn Recycling Center in Westampton. Following that, new single-stream sorting equipment will be installed, according to the county.
For more information, please visit www.burlcorecycles.com.
