Sunnyvale, CA -- (6/ 20/01)— The City of Sunnyvale and its recycling contractor, Specialty Solid Waste & Recycling, are rolling out a new "split-cart" recycling service. Citywide distribution of the new split-cart that holds a mix of containers on one side and newspaper on the other side will be made to residents with curbside recycling service during the last week in June and continue through July 27.

Sunnyvale’s newest boost to residential recycling service is designed to encourage more recycling, but also has the potential to protect the environment, protect workers, and protect residents by providing a "one stop" recycling container.

Each resident will receive a new, wheeled 64-gallon recycling cart that will replace the three stackable recycling crates. According to Rich Gurney, Recycling Supervisor, "the cart will make it easier and more convenient to recycle, helping the City to continue to meet the State requirement to reduce waste by 50 percent and exceed our current 55 percent diversion rate."

The split cart has a center-divider allowing for the collection of newspapers on one side, and a mix of containers—glass, plastic, steel, and aluminum containers together on the other side. Another feature of the expanded service is the collection of more types of plastic. With the new service, plastic bottle and jars types one through seven (shown as an individual number placed inside the chasing recycling arrows on the container) can all be recycled in the one cart. Used motor oil, oil filters, and cardboard are not to be placed in the cart, but will continue to be collected curbside.

Residents may keep their old yellow, green and blue bins for other uses, or they may leave them at curbside the week after cart delivery and they will be picked up and recycled. Additional details will be included with the cart delivery.

Multi-unit housing residents will also be able to recycle the additional types of plastic bottles and jars in their existing on-site carts. Property owners and managers were mailed notification of this change.

Another feature of the new program is the automated trucks. Currently, drivers must get out of the truck and manually lift the stackable bins to recycle the materials at the 1,200 homes they service each day. This increases the risk of worker injuries, and it takes longer than an automated system. The new trucks will enable drivers to use automated levers to lift the carts and empty the contents into the trucks. By using semi-automated cart lifting equipment, worker injuries will reduce and collection efficiencies will increase, keeping costs down to residents.

The four automated recycling trucks potentially reduce worker injuries, and also promote cleaner air because they are fueled with natural gas. The City and Specialty are working with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to provide a local fueling station.

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