PRESS RELEASE
For Release – March 28, 2013
SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING IS NOW HERE
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Effective Monday, April 1, 2013, Concord residents who place their recycling material at the curb may place all of their recycling material in the same container for collection. Residents no longer need to separate bottles and cans from paper and cardboard. All material that the City currently recycles may be placed in the same container or containers.
At their meeting on Wednesday, March 27, Concord’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee received a favorable report from General Services Department that the City’s contractor, Bestway Disposal, is able to officially extend single stream recycling to the City’s curbside weekly solid waste and recycling collection service at no additional cost.
“Providing single stream recycling to all residents at their homes is a significant step in our efforts to reduce the community’s solid waste stream and increase recycling volumes. Eliminating the need to sort bottles and cans from paper and cardboard makes recycling much more convenient and easier for our residents” noted Councilor Keith Nyhan, Chair of the City’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee.
In 2009, the City of Concord launched a weekly recycling collection program serving every residential property within the community from single family homes to large multi-family apartment and condominium complexes. Since that time, the community has reduced its residential solid waste stream by 43 % while significantly increasing recycling volumes.
“Delivering weekly recycling service to every residential property is a significant environmental commitment we are able to provide. I’m proud of our community’s effort to recycle. Extending single stream recycling to our successful curbside collection program will significantly enhance our recycling efforts.” stated Mayor Jim Bouley.
About 12,000 homes in Concord receive weekly curbside solid waste and recycling collection service. To recycle, residents had to separate cans and bottles from paper and cardboard when they placed their material at the curb. Beginning April 1, 2013, residents will no longer need to sort their recycling material. All recycling material can be placed in the same container. The recycling material will be processed at a facility where it will be sorted and subsequently marketed to secondary markets by the City’s solid waste contractor.
Residents just need to separate their recycling material from their waste and place it in one or more containers at the curb for collection. They no longer need to separate bottles and cans from paper and cardboard.
“Many residents have elected to recycle their old trash containers and use them for recycling by clearly marking them recycle which is perfectly acceptable;” noted General Services Director Chip Chesley “in fact, we have stickers available for that purpose.”
The City has additional recycling containers and recycling container stickers available at their Combined Operations and Maintenance Facility at 311 North State Street from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.