High Tech Recycling Bins Tell City Officials When People Aren't Recycling

In Cleveland, Ohio a new move is being undertaken to try to get the citizens recycle. Next year the city will roll out a high-tech collection system with new trash and recycling carts embedded with radio frequency identification chips (RFID) and bar codes.

The chips will allow city workers to monitor how often residents bring their recycling to the curb for pick up. If a chip shows that a recycling cart hasn't been brought to the curb for a while, a trash supervisor will sort through the trash for recyclables.

If more than 10 percent recyclable material is found in the resident's trash they can be fined $100, according to Waste Collection Commissioner Ronnie Owens. Recyclables include metal cans, paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and glass.

The City Council approved on Wednesday spending $2.5 million on high-tech carts for 25,000 households across the city. This is expanding a pilot program that began in 2007 with 15,000 households.

The project will expand by 25,000 households a year until nearly all of the city's 150,000 households are included.

Existing carts may be retrofitted with the microchips. This would save a lot of time and money in the manufacturing of new carts.

Read more on the next page.


"We're trying to automated our system to be a more efficient operation," Owens said. "This chip will assist us in doing our job better."

This is true. If this move enables the city to better enforce recycling, they will be doing a much better job that many other cities. It's very good when people recycle because it does make a huge difference in both the cost of making new materials and also in the environment.

In Cleveland, recycling is good for the environment and for their economy. Last year, the city sent 220,000 tons of garbage to landfills and collected 5,800 tons of recyclables. The city pays $30 a ton to dump garbage in landfills, but earns $26 a ton for recyclables.

Cleveland is not the only city doing this with their waste management program. They are, however, one of the biggest to make this move.