United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5306W)
EPA530-F-99-010
April 1999
www.epa.gov/osw
Multifamily Recycling
A Golden Opportunity for Solid
Waste Reduction
fyour community has a number of multifamily buildings, ranging from duplexes to high rises, you
might be aware that providing cost-effective, convenient recycling services to these types
of residences can be a challenge. Since these structures may house a large percentage of
your population, however, they provide a golden opportunity for recycling.
How are communities meeting this challenge? What are the secrets to achieving
high diversion rates with an efficient use of resources? With successful multifami,
recycling programs operating in communities as diverse as New York City and
Maple Grove, Minnesota, there now are answers to these important questions.
This fact sheet explains the diversion rates, costs, and com-
mon elements of high performing multifamily recycling pro-
grams across the United States, based on the experience of
communities like your own. This information is drawn
from the results of a national study that compared single
family and multifamily recycling services.
Measures for Success
How do you measure the success of a multifamily
recycling program? As with all recycling collection
efforts, most people would agree that a good multi-
family program is one that diverts large volumes of
material at low costs. For the purposes of this study,
those programs with a diversion rate of more than 20
percent (11 of the 40 sample communities) are con-
sidered high performers. Of the remaining communi-
ties studied, 16 have diversion rates between 10 and
20 percent, and 13 programs registered below 10 per-
cent.
Diversion
Multifamily recycling can help divert significant
quantities of materials from the solid waste stream.
The curbside diversion rate1 for the multifamily pro-
grams studied was nearly as high as that of single
families, averaging 14.6 percent compared to 16.0
percent for single family households. Each multi-
family household examined in this study set out an
average of 0.14 tons of recyclable materials per year.
This compares to 0.23 tons per single family house-
hold per year. If recycling was made available to all
of the 13-2 million multifamily housing units
throughout the United States, at least 847,000 addi-
tional tons of materials could be diverted from dis-
posal facilities nationwide. An added benefit is that
as more materials are diverted from the waste stream,
the amount of trash generated drops. In addition, as
diversion increases, the entire discard stream is
reduced, possibly due to increased waste prevention
on the part of households participating in recycling.
Costs
As with any other service, recycling programs
present a cost for communities. The study showed
that the more a community recycles, however, the
more cost-efficient recycling programs become. The
average (net) cost2 per ton to collect recyclables
@ Printed on paper that contains at least 20 percent postconsumer fiber.
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from multifamily households is $177; however, this fig-
ure drops to $113 for communities with diversion rates
over 20 percenta decrease of 36 percent. Single fam-
ily counterparts average $127 per ton of recyclables; the
cost decreases to $82 in high diversion communities.
(This does not include the cost of yard trimmings col-
lection.) The study showed a strong correlation
between single family and multifamily diversion rates,
implying that a community with one successful recy-
cling program is likely to have other successful pro-
grams as well.
An additional finding of the study was that for com-
munities with high diversion in single family house-
holds, recycling costs less per ton than refuse collection.
In communities with high diversion recycling pro-
grams, the cost to pick up trash from multifamily
dwellings also is lower than for single family homes.
Successful Program Profile
The way you design your collection system can have
a significant impact on the success of your multifamily
recycling program. Most of the successful communities
in the study share similar strategies. You might consider
some of their approaches when designing your own
program.
Containers
Equipping buildings with 90-gallon carts typically
provides enough room to store the collected recy-
clables, allows for mobility on site, takes up minimal
space at the complex, and allows service by semi-
automatic side loaders.
Providing at least 3 containers per set-out allows for
adequate sorting and discourages contamination.
You might, for example, provide containers for
newspapers, old corrugated cardboard (OCC), and
other "mixed" recyclables (e.g., glass, metal
containers).
Furnishing a set of recycling containers for each
group of 15 to 19 households makes recycling con-
tainers easily accessible to all residents and encour-
ages participation in the program.
Collection
According to this study, most high performing com-
munities rely on a private firm to collect recyclables.
Programs with high diversion rates are likely to
charge each multifamily unit a monthly flat fee of $2
or more for collection of recyclables. In addition,
high performing programs are more likely to have
variable fee systems for multifamily garbagea sys-
Breaking New Ground
To determine the effectiveness of multifamily efforts in the United States, the U.S. Conference
of Mayors and ECODATA, Inc. conducted a national study to document the costs, diversion rates,
and program characteristics of recycling programs in multifamily households. Funded
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the study is based on detailed
information obtained from a sample of 40 communities located in defined geo-
graphic sectors in the United States. All sample communities had a multifamily
recycling program in place for at least 1 year. In total, the 40 communities studied
provide recycling services to 3.9 million multifamily households; excluding New
York City, the 39 remaining cities serve 887,558 multifamily households. The aver-
age number of multifamily units served by these 39 cities is 22,758.
A copy of the study, Multifamily Recycling: A National Study
(EPA530-R-99-011) can be ordered through EPA's RCRA Hotline. Call 800
424-9346, or for the hearing impaired, call TDD 800 553-7672. The study
also is available on EPA's Web site at . For a copy of
the Executive Summary, visit the U.S. Conference of Mayor's Web site at
.
1 f» I III
III 111
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tern that allows building owners to reduce their fees as
the volume of discards is diverted from refuse to
recycling.
The more materials you collect, the higher your poten-
tial recycling rate. Most programs include at least the
"standard" list of newspapers, aluminum and steel cans,
high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) plastics, and glass.
High performance programs, which collect an average of
10 materials, also include recyclables such as magazines,
phone books, mixed waste paper, OCC, and other
plastics.
Ensuring Success
Even successful programs can face hurdles during imple-
mentation. Low participation is the most common obstacle,
but some communities have experienced others as well.
High performing communities recommend the following
ways to minimize these problems before they develop:
Increase Participation
Consider a mandatory program. Of the highest per-
forming programs, 90 percent rely on mandatory partic-
ipation.
Some programs use fines, liens, or other sanctions
against complexes that violate local regulations.
Establish Contract Provisions
For communities that use private haulers, in some cases
contracts allow haulers to change their list of accept-
ed recyclables as the market changes, which
can result in confusion among resi-
dents. To avoid this problem,
work with your contractor
to provide up-to-date
lists of acceptable mate-
rials to residents.
Multifamily:
Collection Cost Per Ton
Diversion and Cost/Ton
-- Cost/Ton Recycling
-D- Cost/Ton Refuse
300
250
en 200
jo
o 150
100
50
0
0% 10%-20%
Diversion Percentage
>20%
Single Family:
Collection Cost Per Ton
Diversion and Cost/Ton
-- Cost/Ton Recycling
-- Cost/Ton Refuse
1
160
en 140
_CD
"o 120
Q
100
80
60
40
<10% 10-20% >20%
Diversion Percentage
Multifamily Diversion
Diversion and Total Discards/Household
CD
D.
33
o
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
<10% 10-20% >20%
Diversion Percentage
Tons/HH Recycling Q Tons/HH Refuse
Single Family Diversion
Diversion and Total Discards/Household
CD
Q_
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
<10% 10-20% >20%
Diversion Percentage
D Tons/HH Recycling D Tons/HH Refuse
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Most programs also establish clear reporting require-
ments if they use contracts, so they can monitor the
number of tons collected, containers emptied, and
households served.
Prevent Contamination
Inspecting collection bins, identifying the responsi-
ble households, and contacting individuals to
explain the recycling program can help prevent or
correct contamination problems.
Clearly labeled containers allow residents to easily
sort recyclable materials.
Educate Managers and Residents
High performing communities conduct targeted out-
reach to their customers via frequent mailings or per-
sonal visits, providing information to individual
building managers and residents.
High performing communities provide a program
representative to give technical assistance on site, on
an as-needed basis.
Moving Recycling into the Future
A multifamily recycling program can help you pro-
vide an important service to households in your com-
munity. It also can help ensure that policy objectives,
like meeting a state recycling goal, are met. Multifamily
recycling can advance your city, as well as the nation, in
reducing reliance on disposal facilities, preventing pol-
lution, and conserving natural resources.
As this study shows, a number of communities have
set up efficient, cost-effective recycling programs for their
multifamily buildings. Learning from these successes can
help you achieve similar results in your own community.
I
Detailed Recordkeeping
Communities that know where containers have been
distributed and how often they are emptied are better
able to target promotions, educational efforts, and
other outreach activities that encourage participation.
Keeping track of performance in a multifamily collection
program is also a key step toward progress. High per-
forming programs quantify the following:
Set-outs
Containers distributed
Households in complexes receiving service
Complaints registered
Service violation notices issued
Quantity of materials collected (both garbage and
recyclables)
Cost Measures2 and Multifamily
Diversion Rates
Multifamily Curbside Diversion
<10% 10-20% >20%
Collection Cost/Ton
Multifamily Recycling
Multifamily Garbage
Single Family Recycling*
Single Family Garbage*
$251.00 $159.00 $113.00
$43.13 $72.60 $66.39
$151.80 $131.70 $81.64
$47.48 $60.28 $101.32
Collection Cost/Household/Year
Multifamily Recycling $16.63 $20.56 $21.81
Multifamily Garbage $45.17 $72.34 $36.01
Single Family Recycling*
Single Family Garbage*
$21.65 $30.96 $24.73
$58.69 $64.71 $84.01
Tons/Household/Year
Multifamily Recycling 0.061 0.145 0.211
Multifamily Garbage 1.023 0.934 0.595
Single Family Recycling* 0.139 0.260 0.297
Single Family Garbage* 1.312 1.123 0.951
"'Does not Include cost of yard trimmings.
iversion rate is the ratio of tons of recyclables per household, for households In the multifamily recycling program, divided by the sum of tons of
refuse per household, for all multifamily households, plus tons of recyclables per household, for households in the multifamily recycling program.
2Cost of service is the actual cost of municipal service, or the payment to a private firm that provides service. Cost of disposal (e.g., landfill rip fee) is
not included in garbage costs. Any revenue from the sale of recyclables that is remitted to the city is subtracted from the cost of recyclables. Thus, no
profit is included for municipal service, whereas the payment to private haulers includes any profit they might earn.
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