Curbside recycling coming to the area

Take out the papers and the trash. Curbside recycling of metal cans, aluminum cans, glass jars and bottles and newspapers will come to West Philadelphia the week of November 15. "It's very exciting, and it's something that will require a lot of education in terms of the University's student body," Spruce Hill Community Association President David Hochman said. "Curbside recycling is going to mean some major changes for how people deal with their trash." Tom Klein, director of education and promotion for the city's recycling office, said off-campus residents living in houses with six or less apartments will be receiving blue buckets and recycling guides over the course of the month. Klein said the University's on-campus residences will still fall under the jurisdiction of the University's recycling program, and will not be affected by the new city plan. The guides instruct residents how to recycle and when to put out their trash. Recycling will take place on the work day before the residence's trash day, every other week. In addition, Klein said, the city is currently placing ads in community papers and arranging announcements through cable television stations. "You can't go out and do the city in one fell swoop," Klein said. By November 15, the recycling program will be fully implemented throughout Philadelphia, said Nick Sanders, president of Spruce Hill Recycling Group and a member of the Mayor's Solid Waste Recycling Committee. The new recycling process will be less expensive than the city's current trash disposal process, Klein said. While disposing of a ton of trash currently costs the city $140, it will cost the city $119 per ton to recycle. He said houses with more than six apartments and apartment high rises will not be part of the recycling plan. Sanders said the exclusion of larger residences from the recycling plan is due to the fact that commercial haulers, and not the city, are responsible for these buildings' trash disposal. "[People] will have to tell their buildings' management that they're very interested in participating in a recycling program, and they would like their commercial hauler to provide for that," Sanders said. "If enough people express that opinion, the community hauler might try to please them." In the past, off-campus residents were able to use the block corner program, in which they could bring their recyclables to designated corners around the area for pickup. But Sanders said the block corner pickup program, which has been in operation for seven years, will stop before the city's curbside recycling program begins. Hochman called the block corner program a "labor of love." "They've been doing it for several years, making miniscule amounts of money, and they can't wait to get out of that business," Hochman said. Klein said he feels the program will work well in the University City area. "I'm not sure what to expect," Klein said. "But given West Philadelphia's socioeconomics, I'd figure on fairly high participation."