Allan Appel Photo
Singh and City Hall’s Rob Smuts.
As the city rolls its recycling campaign into the final frontier, Hill landlord Kampton Singh vowed to do his part to help lift New Haven’s recycling rate from the current 25 to 30 percent to the state average of 54.
Monday afternoon officials gathered at 205 Kimberly Ave., one of Sing’s many buildings in the Hill neighborhood, to mark the rollout of the fifth and final distribution of new toters in the city’s successful shift to “single-stream” recycling.
On Saturday city public works chief John Prokop and his department’s Refuse Supervisor Richie Christensen oversaw distribution of 6,300 little 48-gallon toters to Edgewood and the Hill. They receive food trash, while the old blue 96-gallon toters received stickers to mark them, the larger container, to receive recyclables.
Click here and here for previous stories on the rollout in Westville and the East Shore and here for the rollout in East Rock.
And click here about how the “single stream” system works and about what to toss in the bigger recylcable bin, which is just about everything non-food except cheesy pizza boxes.
As with the previous rollouts, the latest effort is to boost recycling in the area that includes Edgewood and the Hill.
Singh, who owns 40 apartments, said he plans to distribute recycling cards and instructions under the door of each tenant. Then he’s going to follow up with a phone call.
Prokop promised Singh he would come to any Hill community meeting to describe the recylcing program.
Begun in August 2010 with initial rollouts in Westville, then East Shore and Newhallville, the recycling campaign has increased recycling in the neighborhoods affected from about 9 to on average 25 to 30 percent, according to Prokop.
Singh’s buildings are among the last wave to receive the new toters. He’s on the Wednesday route that includes the territory from Edgewood Park through the Hill to the harbor.
“I’m big about leaving it [that is the earth in New Haven] a better place for my family,” said Singh.
Prokop, who has overseen the implementation, said Sing’s route is the last because its recycling rate, of about 6 percent, is the lowest in the city.
He said they began with Westville, where the rate was the best, in order to build momentum citywide.
And it has worked, according to officials.
After a year plus, Westville’s recycling rate has grown from 9 to between 25 and 30 percent and the East Shores to between 9 and 21 percent, Prokop said.
After 12 months on each route, the city’s goal is to boost recycling to 25 to 30 percent, and has been successful thus far, said Prokop.
Mayor DeStefano with Refuse Supervisor Ritchie Christensen and Singh.
However, there are areas, even in top-performing Westville, where the rate is still 8 percent, he said.
That’s often multifamily homes with landlords less diligent Singh.
Prokop said no determination has been made, but programs to reach delinquent recyclers might include educational efforts with the Board of Ed and the city Office of Sustainability, and even getting tough with landlords.
Currently when there are egregious situations, letters are sent and followed up on
However, Prokop said, problem is often that the letters are returned and the landlord “has moved on.”
Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts said, “We see at least double to triple [increase in recycling rates] in each of the routes” that have been implemented in the past year.
He called that a “significant shift.”
It is also one with financial benefits, with each ton of recyclables sold by the city for $104 in revenue, as opposed to a cost of $34 a ton to burn trash.
“The net financial benefit to the city in the last 12 months [is], about $400,000,” Prokop estimated.
Mayor John DeStefano, who came by to thank Singh and participate in the fifth and final roll out, termed it “an early holiday gift” to the city.