By Michele Marchetti

Posted: 09.15.09 | Tagged: recycling, waste

The average North Miami resident tosses nearly four and a half pounds of waste each day — more than three-quarters of a ton per year.

Mark Collins is trying to change that. His message: You can save money by recycling.

North Miami residents pay about $500 in annual sanitation fees, says Collins, interim deputy city manager/public works director. In January the city switched to new 96-gallon recycling carts (they previously used 18-gallon bins) and signed a contract with a new single-stream recycling center, enabling residents to recycle more items than in the past, including magazines, junk mail and phone books. Collins' goal is to reduce the amount of garbage dumped and, within a year, shave about $100 dollars off that bill. "People are losing their jobs and having their wages cut," he says. "If we can try to lower their bill that will help."

In the meantime, through North Miami's partnership with RecycleBank, residents are turning their recyclable into immediate savings, through rewards, gifts cards and groceries. "We like to get things," Collins says, "and RecycleBank offers that incentive."

The program is a success. When North Miami started its partnership with RecycleBank in March-the first city in the Southeastern United States to sign on- residents were recycling about 30 tons per month; in August they recycled 150 tons. Some people are even requesting another cart, reporting that they've filled their can to the max days before the next pick-up. (One overzealous participant even packed her cart with dozens of telephone books she swiped from her local church. "The truck couldn't lift up the can because it was so full of books," Collins says.)

Collins has seen firsthand how the bin headed to a recycling plant can impact the size of the one destined for the dump. He commutes 26 miles to North Miami from his home in Davie, where just a small amount of what he's capable of recycling is stuffed inside an 18-gallon bin. "I'm dying to go to the bigger container," he says, "but I'm still stuck with the antiquated system."