Politics & Government

Village: Recycling Up 20 Percent With New WM Carts

More Plainfield residents are conserving, thanks to a program by Waste Management that provides 96-gallon recycling carts.

In December, village trustees inked a new contract with trash pickup provider Waste Management that came with a roughly 3 percent rate increase — but it also came with .

Residents received their carts in March, and already, the program is showing positive results when it comes to recycling, according to the village.

Last week, and Waste Management reported that recycling volumes have grown nearly 20 percent during April, May, and June compared with the same period last year, with an additional 173 tons of material being recycled.  Residents recycled 884 tons in the same period in 2011 versus 1,057 tons in 2012.

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Waste Management delivered wheeled, 96-gallon refuse and recycling carts with lids to the village’s approximately 12,000 households in March as a means to improve the community’s collection program.

“The program is working just as we expected and we’re delighted with the results,” Mayor Mike Collins said. “The new containers made it easier for our residents to recycle and wheel their trash to the curb for collection. The result is we have a cleaner community with less litter and a lot more waste diverted from the landfill.”

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Mike Morley, municipal marketing manager for Waste Management, said the company anticipated increased recycling rates in Plainfield after seeing the impact the larger wheeled carts had in other communities.

“With 96 gallons of capacity, the new recycling cart holds five times as much material as the recycling container Plainfield residents formerly used. This allows residents to easily store their recyclables in the cart until collection day and just as easily roll them to the curb for pickup," Morley said, adding he's pleased with the results so far.


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