Dive Brief:

• The Development Authority of North Country's board of directors has approved a new program that will allow several New York counties to be awarded 33% of their cost to implement single-stream recycling, up to $100,000. They will also be reimbursed $5 per ton for recyclables delivered to single-stream facilities. And counties that already offer single-stream programs can receive funding for compactors, trucks and other transportation-related equipment. 
• The program will affect Lawrence County, which already provides single-stream recycling; Lewis County, which will launch single-stream next year; and Jefferson County, which has not decided on a single-stream program yet. The program will run on a trial basis for 15 months, then officials will evaluate the pilot, based on volume of recyclables dumped on the landfill.
• The program was motivated by a recent Development Authority study that found about 25% of the sampled trash at Rodman landfill was recyclable. About 40% was waste that transfer stations may have the capacity to process in the future, such as organic materials, textiles and plastics, as reported in Watertown Daily News. 

Dive Insight:

Studies show people are more likely to recycle when they can dispose multiple product types in the same bin, according to the Watertown Daily News.  Many municipalities vouch for these findings, saying they are seeing higher recycling rates with single-stream, including one Minnesota county that just reported a 20% increase in recycling through its revamped no-sort offerings.

Financial incentives are a way to help recycling businesses play their part in driving the numbers higher, not only in New York but across other municipalities as well. 

A drive to raise the bar, coupled with Lewis County and St. Lawrence County’s decisions to create single-stream systems, is why this financial support has been offered, according to James W. Wright, authority CEO.

'We’re making progress, but there is still a great deal of low-hanging fruit, and that becomes an issue of leadership and commitment from the governments and haulers," he said.