Politics & Government

New Carts Boost Huntington Woods' Recycling

The city will mark November as America Recycles Month as the only SOCCRA community to have entirely converted to single-stream recycling.

The Huntington Woods City Commission proclaimed November as America Recycles Month during its meeting Tuesday night at City Hall, following the successful launch of the city's pioneering single-stream recycling program.

The program provided all city residents with new recycling carts that allow recyclers to skip the step of sorting. So far, said Claire Galed of the , the initiative is going great.

"(During the first collection Oct. 11), we saw an increase of approximately 12 percent over the quantity of recycling from the previous week," she wrote in an email to Berkley Patch. "I have had no serious complaints. The most common question is: 'You mean I can just throw everything in all mixed together?' "

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Residents who would like to learn more about using the new carts can attend a workshop at 7 p.m. Thursday at the .

The new recycling carts were provided thanks to a $60,000 contribution from 2011 Huntington Woods Men's Club Service Auction proceeds and approximately $20,000 from the city's sanitation fund, which operates outside the general fund.

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Huntington Woods is the first of 12 Southeastern Oakland County Resource Recovery Authority (SOCRRA) communities to entirely convert to single-stream recycling. SOCRRA will use the data gathered in Huntington Woods to encourage the other cities to adopt single-stream recycling.

The other SOCRRA communities include Berkley, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak and Troy.

SOCRRA tabulates each city's recycling reimbursement based on the amount of recyclables collected there; because the single-stream program in Huntington Woods has been shown to increase recycling participation, the communities stand to benefit from making the switch.

"Beyond the environmental and civic benefits of recycling, the success of the all-in-one program could have a profound financial impact on Huntington Woods," according to a press release about the program. "In 2009-10, the city recouped 92 percent of the cost of its recycling program, the highest percentage achieved within the 12 communities that comprise the regional recycling authority SOCRRA. Huntington Woods is aiming to reduce its solid waste costs in the future."

If you go

What: All-In-One Recycling Workshop 201

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Where:

Why go: The All-In-One Recycling Workshop 201 will offer tips for using the single-stream carts. For example, Galed said: "Let the cart do the work. The most common mistake is not tipping the cart back far enough." Galed also will discuss "the few things that are trash as we shift our thinking towards recycling."

Cost: Free

What else: Open to the public. Call 248-288-5150 to reserve a space.


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