Rochester, N.Y., Considers Organics Collection

In an attempt to take its recycling efforts to the next level, the city of Rochester, N.Y., is considering organics collection.

It’s currently conducting an analysis of its waste stream to find out what is recycled, which areas of town recycle the best and which need some work and what trends may help the city expand and/or improve its recycling efforts.

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has more details:

Citywide composting could be the next step for the city of Rochester's recycling program.

The city plans to begin exploring the idea in the year ahead. The addition of organics would open a new avenue for the city program, which marks 30 years in September.

Rochester got into the recycling business with a test program limited to newspapers, magazines and telephone books. At the time, those items represented the biggest part of the waste stream, totaling 21 percent of the tonnage collected. It would be another three years before recycling went citywide, with a $12 million effort involving 11 specially designed trucks and thousands of green recycling totes delivered to every household.

Read the full story here.