The city expected Omaha residents to recycle at least 20% more paper, plastic and cans after providing larger carts from the city's latest trash-hauling contract with FCC Environmental.
Public Works and the city's recycling processor say Omahans are recycling about 50% more material with the larger bins.
Freedman says she is recycling more, in part because the city's new carts hold more, and because her kids got interested. Cans, paper, clear plastics and cardboard from online orders.
"In our house, we have a spot," she said for recycling, showing us a pull-out shelf in a kitchen cabinet by the door. "We have two containers that these paper bags fit into ...and we just come out and dump it whenever it’s full," she said.
Firstar Fiber, a company that sifts through Omaha's recycling, has noticed the difference. On average, it is sorting through 100-140 tons of recyclables a day, company officials said.
"A ton, keep in mind, weighs about a Volkswagen bug," said Dale Gubbels, CEO of Firstar Fiber.
Firstar combs through what people put in those larger recycling carts, separates items into piles, then presses them into bulk packages of commodities and sells them.
Companies buy the recycled material to manufacture something new. Gubbels says he sends most of what Omaha recycles to plants in nearby states, to places like Wisconsin and Iowa.
This month, the Omaha City Council will consider a new five-year contract making Firstar the sole sorter of Omaha recycling. The company has more than 100 employees in Omaha and Lincoln.
Public Works says it expects to spend about $2 million a year on recycling from the curb and drop-off sites for larger items and items that aren't recycled curbside, like glass.
Omaha spends over $20 million a year on garbage collection.
"The way we bid the contract, when (recycling) markets are good, we will pay less," said Jim Theiler, assistant director of Public Works. "If the markets go bad, we will pay a little bit more."
Experts say the domestic market for recyclables has rebounded since China stopped buying recycled material from the States.
"The market has improved quite a bit, largely because America is starting to invest in the need for recycling," Gubbels said.
The biggest change in what we recycle locally has been the shift from mixed paper, including newspaper, to cardboard. It's part of what recycling experts call the "Amazon effect."
Other increases from 2006 to 2021 include recycling more plastic bottles and containers, plus more aluminum cans. The city paid for a study before seeking its latest bids for recycling.