Across Rochester Hills, Those Green Carts Overflow with Paper and Plastic

You've tried your best to fold down the cardboard boxes. You've squished the milk cartons; bundled the newspapers.

And in the end, you take a heavy fist to the top of the big green cart and push the recyclables down, down, down into the bottom of the container. Because what else is there to do about an overflowing recycling bin?

Nothing, really, officials say.

Because in these days of reducing and reusing, where recyclables often overflow the 65-gallon cart that every Rochester Hills homeowner received as part of a citywide waste program a year and a half ago, there may be no easy solution.

Why a simple 'switch' won't work

Kevin Kendall knows the scene at the curb all too well.

Kendall is a Rochester Hills homeowner who notices each week that he is recycling more than he is throwing away.

As part of the city's agreement with Republic Services (formerly Allied Waste) negotiated in 2009, Rochester Hills residents use two containers for the things they no longer want. One is a 95-gallon cart for trash. The other is a 65-gallon cart for recyclables.

Most weeks, Kendall said, his recyclables container is so full he can't close it. His trash cart? Mostly empty.

He is not unlike many residents around town. Rochester Hills City Council member James Rosen said he has been asked by several residents whether the containers can be switched, using the 95-gallon cart for recyclables and the smaller cart for trash.

Kendall might agree with these residents — but he also happens to know why their request isn't feasible.

"The 95-gallon cart for recycling is the better way to go, there is no doubt about it," said Kendall, who happens to be southeast Michigan's general manager for Republic Services.

But as Kendall explained it, each 65-gallon cart is equipped with a computer chip that is unique to its residence. The chip is linked to that homeowner's personal account for RecycleBank — an that rewards homeowners who recycle with points that can be redeemed for gift cards and coupons around town.

Each week, the recycling truck lifts the cart, scans the chip and weighs how much that homeowner recycled. For every pound of recyclables, a participant earns 2.5 RecycleBank points. A cart full of recyclables can earn the resident a free game of bowling, for example. (For more on RecycleBank, .)

In order for the carts to be switched, new carts would need to be purchased and new chips would have to be installed. "It would be a significant cost," Kendall said.

But if the city decided to do away with the chips — and RecycleBank — and just tell residents across the city to switch their containers, that would also present many logistical problems, according to Mayor Bryan Barnett.

Unless everyone complied with a simultaneous switch of the containers, the waste haulers would not know which container had the trash and which one had the recyclables, Barnett said.

And while he has heard some complaints, most are in passing and not in anger, he said.

Overall, Barnett praised the program for encouraging people to recycle. Before the citywide program, about 15 percent to 22 percent of residents recycled, he said. Today, the rate is about 85 percent.

"It has been a better program beyond all of our expectations," he said.

But what to do about the overflowing recycle carts?

Kendall said he is willing to entertain alternatives; he knows there are concerns out there.

But in the meantime, he offers these tips for residents who have more than 65 gallons of paper, plastic, metal and glass to recycle each week:

• If you have extra recycling, you may place it in a separate sturdy bin next to the recycling cart.
• Stuff the cart as full as you can — and feel free to leave the cart's lid wide open.
• Lean bigger items (cardboard boxes, for example) against the cart. While Kendall said he doesn't like his drivers to have to get out of their truck to load things separately, this is sometimes the best solution for people.

Kendall assured Rochester Hills residents that their overflowing items would be picked up and properly recycled.

"We're not going to leave stuff blowing all around Rochester Hills," he said.