http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkoCLPeIbrU
Hannah Sandoval, South Side home renter and senior at Duquesne University, mentioned something called single-stream recycling in the video, above. Even if you do recycle, if you're anything like me, chances are you hadn't a clue that such a thing actually exists.
See, in Pittsburgh (as Hannah mentioned), all occupants are expected to set out recyclables every other week. All recyclables (glass, plastics, aluminum, cardboard, office paper, leaf waste, etc.) must be placed on the curb, outside of their residence -- in bright blue bags, nonetheless.
As you can imagine, this may become a bit tedious and well, flat-out annoying. I mean, who has time for that, right?!
According to Pittsburgh Recycling Supervisor - Mr. Shawn Wigle, more people than one may believe. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Wigle to discuss current recycling conditions in Pittsburgh. Through the interview, I gathered a little background on how the single-stream recycling system came to be, and just how successful efforts have proven to be.
Here's a little snippet from our chat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSsl4sfRldA&feature=youtu.be
Should You be Concerned if You're Not Recycling?
Well, maybe a little.
To a degree, the entire process runs on an honor system. Wigle does warn, though, that the Bureau of Environmental Sciences - Recycling Division Department is "actively out there, every week, servicing 300,000+ stops." Now that's a lot of garbage, and a lot of regulators to go around.
Mostly based on demographic, some areas of the city do have less of a participation rate.
Wigle attributed the lower numbers in the Oakland and South Side neighborhoods, to the high-turnover of college/young professional renters.
"It can be a challenge not only for the recycling, but just to get the folks to do the proper thing with the trash," he remarked.
But hey, word to the wise, don't go testing your luck now.
Wigle warns there certainly exists a scale of fines for penalty measures - some more severe than others.
RESIDENTS - $50 per occurrence + Court Cost
COMMERICAL - $1,000
"We do try to resolve the situation before we cite folks, in every instance, whether it be residential or commercial. We try to warn folks and give them every opportunity they can to do the right thing. At the end of the day, we'd rather see them do the right thing than just hand out citations."
Randy - Delanie's Coffee
Our earlier interviewee Randy, from Delanie's Coffee, was a little agitated with city's current recycling performance. He believed that much more could be done to better accommodate local businesses, such as his, to the recycling practices and the measures that they should be taking, as mandated by the city.
What Randy didn't know, and neither did I go into this, is that although they are still ordered to recycle under Code 619, the department itself does not physically collect from commercial businesses. This means that there is an additional cost involved for the businesses to dispose of their recyclable goodies. Wigle addressed this concern by stating:
"Recycling is cheaper than trash, you're paying to throw something in a hole in the ground, versus paying to get something recycled that has a value to it. There definitely is a cost savings to recycling the trash."
If cost does present itself as an issue, Wigle suggests that small commercial businesses take their trash to the several drop-off centers - open 24/7 - available to them, free of charge!
One can be found directly next to the Bureau of Environmental Sciences in the Strip District.
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