Minneapolis advises I must separate my recycling, and leaves a yellow “nastygram” on my trashcan if I do something wrong.

For recycling alone, I need to track 9 categories of waste flows (see table at bottom). If each requires 2 square feet, that is 18 square feet of real estate per household in space devoted to temporarily storing recyclables. This 18 square feet might be slightly off, but measurements in my house put it as about right.

At $100 per square foot (typical of real estate), $1800 of space per house must be devoted to storing recycling. At 168,352 housing units in Minneapolis (2000) , this is $303,033,600 of space devoted to storing recyclables.

Minneapolis says:

Why Must I Separate All My Recycling?

 

Sorted recycling generates the biggest revenue. Revenue from recycling provides money for:

• Large item pickup
• The voucher program
• Clean City programs
• Ongoing operating costs

If the City of Minneapolis used singlestream recycling (all recycling in one bin, as some areas do), the higher cost of processing these materials would result in lower revenue, and possible cuts in other waste services.

The question is, is the Net Present Value of the future stream of lower revenue anywhere near $300 million? I don’t think so. A simpler recycling program for users would allow more of my house to be devoted to things other than storing recycling (on the theory that I sort at time of disposal, rather than separate to prepare the trash for transshipment after already premixing). It might also increase compliance.

Recycling is a good thing. I hear Minneapolis is considering singlestream recycling.. This is an especially good thing. Now if they could go to weekly instead of fortnightly, we might be making real progress.

Material and Energy Flow management at the household is quite complicated. I counted the following Inflows:

• Water
• Mail
• Electricity
• Natural Gas
• People
• Food
• Other goods

And Outflows:

• Electricity
• Returned on AC
• Wastewater
• Stormwater
• Compost
• Boxtops for Education
• Unseparated, Unrecylcable Trash (which ideally would be close to zero)
• Recycling:
• Paper
• Aluminum
• Glass
• Plastics
• Batteries
• Garden waste (branches, grass clippings)
• Recycling the city does not do:
• Plastic bags from grocery stores
• Lightbulbs
• Waste Electronics
• Water filters
• Toner cartridges
• Bulk goods
• Reuse
• Old Clothes
• Bulk goods
• Mail
• People

And I am sure both lists are missing things. Perhaps if we had competitive trash services, private firms would figure out the optimal mix of mixing and separation.

The following table is provided for easy reference.

All recycling must be placed in separate paper bags, as follows:

 

Recyclable	Process	Place in Paper Bag	Maximum
Cans; food, beverage & aluminum foil	Rinse, clean and remove all caps or lids.	Yes
Glass Bottles & Jars	Rinse, clean and throwaway all caps or lids.	Yes
Plastic Bottles	Rinse, clean and throwaway all caps or lids.	Yes
Newspaper	Keep dry. Ads are accepted.	Yes, or bundle with string or twine.	20 lbs.
Magazines and Catalogs	Keep dry.	Yes	20 lbs.
Dry Food Boxboard, Office Paper & Mail	Flatten boxes, remove plastic, and keep dry.	Yes
Household Batteries	Tape ends of lithium contacts to prevent fire.	No, but Place in clear plastic bag, on top or inside the bin.
Phone Books	Keep dry.	No, but Place on top or inside the bin.
Corrugated Cardboard	Flatten each box. Remove and throw away plastic, tape and packing material.	No, but must be bundle with string or twine	20 lbs. 3ft. x 3ft.