Pilot programs spur uptick in county’s total recycling

Sam Morris

Republic Services Recycling Manager Chris Detweiler stands next to bales of aluminum cans Wednesday. Pilot programs with only one container have increased tonnage.

By Stephanie Tavares

Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Chris Detweiler is Republic Services of Southern Nevada’s material recovery facility division manager. In layman’s terms he’s in charge of recycling in Clark County. He is also a decorated former Marine who started his waste management career in 1991 as a trash truck driver.

How much recycling goes on in Clark County?

Clark County recycled 590,995 tons of waste in 2008, and 2,449,878 tons of waste was disposed of in the Laughlin and Apex landfills in 2008. This means about 20 percent of the waste was recycled.

How does that rate compare with other markets?

It’s low compared with some of Republic’s markets in California — 55 percent in Anaheim, 57 percent in Garden Grove and Placentia, 60 percent in Colton and Fullerton and 65 percent in Villa Park. California cities and counties can be fined up to $10,000 a day for failing to meet state and local recycling goals.

Why doesn’t Republic collect recyclables from apartment complexes?

There aren’t enough property management companies willing to pay for the services and in many cases they do not have the room for additional containers where recyclables could be collected. We do offer a limited mail room recycling service to apartment complexes. We supply a special recycling container so residents can easily recycle their junk mail. And anyone can take household recyclables directly to our Recycling Center at 333 W. Gowan Road in North Las Vegas.

Has the downturn in the economy had any effect on the amount of recyclables coming in?

Not as far as I can tell. In fact, as a result of the increase in the number of homes on the pilot programs, we have seen an increase in tonnage.

How are the recycling pilot programs doing?

We have about 20,000 homes on pilot programs — in which there’s just one bin for all the recyclables — in unincorporated Clark County, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. The diversion rate for the test areas is between 18 and 33 percent. That’s four to five times the recycling we get with the separate recycling crates. A customer survey will be sent to residents in the pilot areas in January. Henderson has expressed interest in starting pilot programs and Laughlin just requested one for 2010.

There is some packaging that has that little triangle that looks like a recycling symbol, but they can’t be recycled here. What can be put in the bins?

Residential customers can recycle: newspaper and mixed office-type paper; brown, green and clear glass containers; metal cans and plastic containers labeled No. 1 (PET or polyethylene terephthalate water bottles) and No. 2 (HDPE or high-density polyethylene detergent containers).