Tipsheet: Recycling impact

Here's an effect of the recession that might have escaped notice so far: Trash collection and recycling rates are down in many communities and that's having an impact on everything from the environment to energy production.

Budget-minded Americans responded to the economic downturn by holding on to stuff they would have thrown away in years past. And because many people have been consuming less, they're producing less trash. The Washington Post reports that trash and recycling collections in suburban Fairfax County, Va., have dropped by 15%.

While that may sound like good news, there's a down side. Because there's less coming in, the county's waste-to-energy plant has been operating below capacity and costing the county money. To bring in more trash, the county has lowered the "tipping fee" it charges for each ton of garbage dropped off at the incinerator, making it a better deal for other local jurisdictions than area landfills. Energy sales should more than make up for the lost fees.

According to the trade group National Solid Wastes Management Association, there are 87 waste-to-energy plants in 25 states. One of them, in Harrisburg, Pa., has its own problems. According to the local newspaper, haulers there have been avoiding tipping fees by dumping trash illegally, costing Dauphin County $300,000 a year. The county also went deeply into debt to finance the waste-to-energy plant, and as Reuters reports, "The payments exceed the annual city budget by some $3 million and the city council has recently begun to explore a possible bankruptcy filing, an event that would cast a shadow far beyond the Keystone state."

Some communities have eliminated curbside recycling to save money, which has undoubtedly cut down on collections. And some recycling centers are losing money, because the value of materials they ship away for processing doesn't cover their costs. The center in Aspen, Colo., is expected to run a $600,000 deficit this year, according to the Aspen Times. “Recycling is not free. Operating the recycling center is not free. Somebody is footing the bill, and that's the county,” [Chris Hoofnagle, the county's solid waste manager] said.

In Rhode Island, however, the manager of a plastics recycling plant told the Providence Journal that his business is "recession-proof."

There is a global market for the PET plastic used in bottles, so whether he pays 10 cents or 15 cents a pound to his chief supplier — the state Resource Recovery Corporation — the price he gets from manufacturers changes accordingly, so the spread generally remains the same. The price is reviewed each week.

What's the situation in your community? Have trash and recycling collections dropped? How has that affected the environment, recycling businesses and the local government budget?

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