Philadelphia Looks for Ways to Boost Recycling Levels

Philadelphia has begun picking up bottles, cans and old newspapers on the same day as trash, seeking to reduce confusion among residents and boost a recycling rate that is among the nation's worst.

Residents and environmental groups have hailed the move, which began a month ago for most city residents, but they say there is room for improvement. Recycling pickups still occur every two weeks in most parts of the city, not weekly, like garbage collection, and plastic is not accepted.

In recent years, the city's curbside recycling rate - the proportion of residential and small-business trash that is put out to be collected for recycling - has hovered around 6 or 7 percent. (The overall recycling rate, which includes recyclables that businesses ship with private haulers, is about 24 percent.)

Recycling companies pay the city for most materials, and recycling also saves money on landfill and incinerator costs. Less trash incinerated also means cleaner air.

Sampson and other environmentalists have urged the city to take the next step, switching to weekly same-day recycling pickups - which has been in place on a pilot basis for several years in Northwest Philadelphia and Center City. Streets Commissioner William Johnson has said he would like to do that.