August 17, 2001 - A new trash and recycling collection system has already saved the city of Roanoke, Virginia money.

In its first month, Roanoke has saved nearly $6,400 in processing fees.

In July, the city began a collection system that picked up all refuse, recycling, bulk and brush items on the same day. This program increased curbside recycling from every other week to every week. It also includes accepting mixed paper products and cardboard for recycling in addition to the cans, plastics, glass and newspapers that were already being accepted. The recycling program has also been expanded citywide to include all households.

A pilot program was launched in November 2000 to 10,000 households to test the new collection system. An article in the Spring 2001 Roanoke Citizen magazine mentioned that the pilot program “had produced 57 percent more paper and 26 percent more bottles, cans and plastics.”

In the August, 17, 2001 edition of the Roanoke Times, Skip Decker, Roanoke's solid waste manager, said that during the first month the city collected 90.8 tons of mixed paper and 48.7 tons of bottles and cans. The city saved about $6,400 by taking the items to Cycle Systems Inc., an area recycler. Cycle Systems charged the city around $2,900 to process the recyclables. It would have cost the city $9,300 to dispose the items in the area landfill, according to Decker.

As recently as May 1999, the Roanoke City Council considered dissolving the recycling
program. A former mayor was quoted as saying "... if other localities in southwest Virginia
aren't interested in municipal recycling, maybe Roanoke shouldn't be, either."

However since 1999, both a new city manager Darlene Burcham as well as Decker have been hired by the city. With both their guidance, the Roanoke recycling program has not only been saved, but has been greatly increased.

The city's goal is to collect at least 300 tons of recyclables a month so Cycle Systems won't charge any processing fees.