CLEVELAND — Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson announced that the city will re-introduce a city-wide recycling program, this time requiring residents to opt-in to the program.
The city said it intends on the program to launch by the end of the year. Jackson’s office says when the service begins, pickups will be held biweekly.
The city also announced it will resume biweekly bulk pickups and will alternate weeks with recycling pickups. The city added on Thursday it will resume issuing citations for violations of City of Cleveland waste collection and recycling regulations beginning Aug. 9.
In order to opt-in to the new recycling program, residents must agree to program guidelines. The mayor’s office said guidelines stipulate that only acceptable materials can be placed in bins on their scheduled weeks. Residents must also agree that their bins may be removed if they are found to not be properly participating in the program.
Residents have until Oct. 22 to sign up for the service. Those interested can call 216-664-3030 or fill out an online form.
The city said it suspended its recycling program in 2020 due to “high contamination rates and inability to solicit a favorable contract for recycling processing services.”
In a survey of recycled materials in September 2020, 62% of the material turned out not to be recyclable, according to a report prepared for the city. The report, which was prepared by GT Environmental, found much of the material consisted of non-recyclable plastics and cardboard.
The report conducted an audit of other cities’ recycling programs and found an average of 19.7% of materials were made of contaminants. Some of the cities, however, accepted small metal appliances, rigid plastics and plastic tubs unlike Cleveland.
“Since suspending our program last year, we have worked hard to evaluate Cleveland’s waste and recycling programs and are developing new approaches to improve waste collection in our city,” said Chief of Operations Darnell Brown. “As we begin to enroll residents into the recycling program, their participation and commitment will be key to keeping contamination down, meeting our waste diversion goals and ensuring the program’s success.”
A new vendor has not been determined as the city is gauging interest from residents.