What happened to curbside recycling?
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Question: Why did the county decide to stop curbside recycling pickups? Why not go to a bi-weekly pickup or increase the fee?
Answer: It comes down to cost, contamination and lack of participation.
Several things can contribute to a curbside recycling program coming to an end. Richard Chesley, manager at the state Department of Health and Environmental Control Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling, said cost, contamination and resident participation are all intertwined when it comes to the health of a curbside program.
“Low participation and contamination increase local government costs and then in addition, depending on the amount of contamination, any potential revenue for the sale of recyclables is lowered or lost,” Chesley said.
SC has fewer curbside recycling programs
Based on the most recent data available from DHEC, South Carolina had 69 active curbside recycling programs across the state in the fiscal year 2022. In that same year, the state paid nearly $33 million to recycle.
In 2017, South Carolina had 85 curbside recycling programs. By 2019, there were 68.
According to Chesley, the most recent curbside program closures have occurred in Upstate areas.
In 2022, Cherokee, Laurens, McCormick, Oconee and Union counties had no curbside recycling programs. Abbeville, Greenwood and Spartanburg had one each.
Central stopped curbside recycling in 2020
The town of Central, located in Pickens County, stopped collecting curbside recycling in April 2020.
Central’s Town Administrator Phillip Mishoe said that they held out as long as possible, but eventually, the program became too difficult to maintain.
“All we were just trying to do is break even and save the landfill,” Mishoe said.
Between his three employees and the cost of a truck to pick up the recycling, Mishoe said the program costs about $150,000 annually.
By the time the program ended, Mishoe said they’d gone from earning revenue on recycling to paying to recycle.
“We ended up getting away from the curbside just because it was costing us so much money,” Mishoe said.
Simpsonville curbside recycling ended in 2021
Simpsonville’s program ended in late 2021. They included cost breakdowns for their program on their website. According to the Simpsonville page, they began paying to recycle in December of 2019. At the time, they reported paying $25 per ton. By the time the program ended, it cost about $65 per ton to recycle.