Albany Meeting Goals for Recycling

This is of three-part series on recycling in Albany. See parts and .

Albany residents of more than a decade remember placing papers in one bin for recycling, and glass and metal containers in another. Now Albany households put all recyclables into one large gray bin on wheels, in “single-stream recycling.”

Why do we no longer need to separate these items? Has Albany been successful in its recycling efforts? Where do our recyclables go?

To find out, Albany Patch spoke with  and environmental specialist Nicole Almaguer and visited the Davis Street Transfer Station in San Leandro where all the materials are sorted and sent on for reclamation.

It turns out that Albany recycles quite a bit of its debris. By putting food and yard waste into the green bins, and paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, tin and aluminum into the gray, Albany keeps about 70 percent of its waste out of the dump.

In recent years, plastic items have been added to the list of acceptable recyclables. Albany residents can put all plastic types, from #1 to #7, into the recycling bin.

“All plastic containers – that includes clamshells, yogurt containers, bottles, bags, plastic wrap – can go into your grey recycling bin,” Almaguer said. “The overwrapping of CD cases, really any of that transparent film, as well as produce bags,” can be put into the recycling. However, she added, “We ask that they’re tied into one bag.”

Albany also has “a pretty strong commercial program,” said Almaguer. Many restaurants recycle food scraps, and a local plastic foam ordinance bans the use of polystyrene containers.

City policies support commercial participation in recycling. Fifty percent of the cost of organics recycling is subsidized by the city, and recycling of other materials is provided free for businesses in Albany.

has also gotten in on the act. “We’re really proud of the school district,” said Almaguer. “It’s one of very few in the state that have subscribed to both recycling and food composting. This results in significant reductions in waste, [as well as] in financial savings for the school district.”

The city is working with the school district in other ways, too. A city intern is researching the feasibility of installing solar panels, improving energy efficiency and conserving more water at school sites.

The Albany recreation department has been organizing events such as clothing swaps and produce swaps to encourage reuse and sharing of resources among Albany residents, Almaguer said.

Albany is working on banning plastic bags, too, according to Almaguer, but that “involves a lot of litigation. Berkeley is now facing a lawsuit; we’re waiting to see what happens.”

A proposed single-use bag-reduction ordinance in Albany would impose a charge for all bags, paper or plastic, given to customers with purchases. In mid-summer 2010 a similar bill was introduced at the state level, but it did not pass.

The city is also doing its part to encourage demand for recycled products when stocking its own supplies, through its environmentally preferable purchasing policy. The policy, established three years ago, requires the city to buy recycled, sustainable, local products "when local is competitive and available,” said Almaguer.

The actual percentage of purchases that are made of recycled material depends on the type. About 70 percent of the city's office supplies—paper, printing cartridges—come from recycled materials. With maintenance supplies, said Almaguer, “It’s a harder market. We do use re-refined oil; we purchase a lot of equipment made of recycled materials, such as traffic barricades and traffic cones.” Speed humps are made out of recycled rubber – basically, old tires.

From the curbside recycling bins, where all types of recyclables are mixed together, recyclable materials are trucked to the Davis Street Transfer Station in San Leandro, which is owned and operated by Waste Management.

Check back with Albany Patch tomorrow for a glimpse at the second stop of our recyclables’ global journey.

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.