GLOBAL WASTE MANAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM 2016 Impacts of a Change from Dual Stream to Single Stream Recycling

Typically, a switch to single stream recycling is often accompanied by other programmatic or collection process changes such as adding more recyclable materials, moving to Pay-As-YouThrow, or automating collection. Here, all aspects of the Town waste program remained the same except for the mode of recyclables collection (although the definition of recyclable plastic containers was expanded from #1 and #2 plastics to all numbered plastics). Therefore, this case offers an opportunity to determine the effect of such a change on recycling absent other factors.