The City of Cuyahoga Falls has announced a Recycle Cart Audit Program for the month of April in an effort to assess and address contamination (non-recyclable materials) in recycle carts. Sanitation crews will be auditing the contents of recycle carts beginning Monday, April 5, 2021, and will continue the process through the month of April. Customers who have recycling contamination in their carts will have tags placed on their cart post-audit with information about the contaminants that were found and information about acceptable materials. Contamination in the carts leads to increased recycling costs, increased opportunity for recyclables to wind up in landfills, and impacts program sustainability.
“We have an impressive 31-year history of recycling here in the City of Cuyahoga Falls and know that our customers remain committed to doing what is best for our environment,” stated Street and Sanitation Superintendent Charles Novak. “Auditing the materials in the recycling carts gives us an opportunity to both understand what contaminated materials are being placed in recycle carts and to educate our customers about how to more accurately and effectively recycle.”
Sanitation crews will be sorting through recycling carts to identify materials that were placed in carts that are not recyclable. They will then tag the cart with feedback to the customer about the contaminants and information about what materials can and cannot be recycled. The goal is to reduce contamination in the carts so that the program will remain financially sustainable. As recycling costs continue to rise and the market continues to shift, it is becoming harder for cities across the country to maintain recycling programs. Cities pay additional fees for contaminated loads of recyclables and have significant difficulties negotiating contracts with the material recovery facilities when there are consistent incidents of contaminants found in the recycling stream.
For information on recycling and to link to the recycling guide of acceptable materials, please visit www.cityofcf.com/departments/sanitation/programs