December 8, 2009
CRI study shows cost impact of single-stream recycling
Dec. 8 -- A new study commissioned by the Container Recycling Institute investigated the cost impact of single-stream residential recycling collection, according to the study that was released today.
CRI chose CM Consulting to conduct the study, which focused on economic and environmental impacts of sign-stream recycling collection.
For the study, the consultant reviewed 60 previously-published studies, reports and articles in trade magazines. The study reports there are many negative downstream impacts of contaminated feedstock due to the mixing of materials through single-stream curbside collection.
"Basically, the report confirms that you can't unscramble an egg," explains CRI Executive Director Susan Collins. "Once the materials are mixed together in a single-stream recycling system, there will be cross-contamination of materials and significant glass breakage. Those cross-contamination and breakage issues then result in increased costs for the secondary processors."
The report is available on the CRI web site www.container-recycling.org.
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