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Why does nobody talk about how recycling rates actually dropped after single-stream pickup started
Ngl I used to think making recycling easier would mean more people did it. But I found a report from the EPA's 2021 data that showed recycling rates in cities that switched to single-stream actually went down by like 12 percent on average. Portland Oregon reported a 15 percent drop in recyclable recovery after they made the switch back in 2019. Has anyone else seen that trend play out in their town?
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kimfisher2mo ago
Totally feel you on this. Saw the same thing happen in my neighborhood after they switched to single-stream. People started throwing random trash in there thinking anything would go. Contamination rates shot up so high the recycling plant just dumped whole truckloads into the landfill. It's disheartening how good intentions backfired like that. Makes you wonder if the easier system actually made people lazier about sorting properly. Wish more folks would talk about this data instead of just assuming single-stream is automatically better.
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irisowens2mo ago
Maybe making it too easy just invites carelessness.
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