New Orleans came within a “hair’s breadth” of ending its curbside recycling pickup plan, according to a top official in the mayor’s office.
NOLA.com – The Times-Picayune
June 13, 2019
By Greg LaRose
But if more residents can participate and be more careful about what they place in their bins, the city should be able to sustain the program for the foreseeable future, he said.
The Cantrell administration announced in mid-May the city had to pare back the items it could accept for recycling. In response to changes on the global market, Republic Services, which processes recyclable materials for one of the city’s garbage pickup contractors, Metro Services, stopped taking residential curbside recyclables, forcing Metro to find a new processor.
China’s recent restrictions on the recyclable materials it buys from the U.S. is just one factor that’s led domestic recycling processors to reduce what they accept from curbside collections, said Randy Hartmann, senior director of affiliate operations for Keep America Beautiful. Recycling efforts are central to the organization’s mission.