Do Co-Mingled Recycling Schemes Result in Higher Recycling Rates?

In some areas, consumers are required to do all the sorting themselves, with recycling facilities merely checking their work on the other end. On the other extreme are programs where all the recycling is tossed together in a single bin to be sorted through with a combination of automated and human effort. Cities that practice co-mingling further designate that glass should be kept separate.

But, which is better? Does removing the requirement to do the sorting by consumers really result in higher overall rates of recycling? Recent studies would suggest that it does, even in cities where most people are accustomed to sorting. Furthermore, it allows collection vehicles to fill up higher when they don’t have a bunch of separate compartments to manage, since one always fills up faster than the others.

With nearly 80% of many trash streams being recyclable or compostable, investment in the equipment that makes co-mingling schemes possible is thought to pay for itself in a few years of higher recycling rates and revenues.