Dive Brief:
- The Closed Loop Fund, a pro-recycling organization funded by large corporations (including Walmart, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo), wants to talk with Omaha officials about offering the city a no-interest loan to cover the $6 million upfront cost of switching from recycling bins to carts for 130,000 households. The group’s loans are paid back through cost savings that cities gain by recycling more waste.
- Mayor Jean Stothert said she is open to the idea, and to possibly talking with waste hauler Deffenbaugh to see if the company would reopen its contract with the city — which expires in 2020 — to switch to carts.
- An Omaha World-Herald analysis found that the main factor in the city recycling program’s low participation and collection rates is the use of 18-gallon bins after most major cities have shifted to wheeled 65- or 95-gallon carts.
Dive Insight:
The Closed Loop Fund is offering a solution to Omaha’s documented need for help in increasing recycling participation and collection rates. Rob Kaplan, managing director of the New York-based group, said, "It sounds like Omaha has a real opportunity to improve recycling, and that’s what our organization was created to do."
City officials are willing to address issues such as the existing waste hauler contract.
The mayor’s chief of staff, Marty Bilek, said the city’s relationship with Deffenbaugh is good, and the city would welcome a chance to switch to recycling carts without raising taxes. "There’s a lot there to talk about, and it’s all positive," Bilek said.
