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Curb service: most U.S. cities retain curbside collection service despite the municipal budget pressures they face.

Article Excerpt
Recycling advocates have watched with dismay as large cities facing budget cuts have scaled back or, in a few cases, eliminated curbside recycling programs in recent years.

When several such program cuts occur in a short time period, it can certainly create an impression that curbside recycling is entering a declining phase.

Overall numbers determining the health of curbside recycling can be difficult to monitor, as villages, cities, counties and the haulers that serve them do not report their activities monthly to a central database.

What a brief survey of solid waste and recycling officials in America's largest cit les has found is that most larger cities still provide recycling services with a curbside collection component.

Participation by residents can vary widely, as can publicity efforts, materials accepted and other factors that can affect exactly how many tons of material are collected through curbside efforts.

The list of largest curbside programs may more accurately represent a list of the 20 curbside programs with the greatest potential to be among the nation's largest. The attention paid in maximizing material collected can vary greatly from city to city, but these 20 programs currently offer curbside collection to the greatest number of households.

As is always the case when compiling such lists, our accuracy depends mightily on the amount of cooperation received from potential candidates. Representatives from some cities have provided what should be a current and accurate figure. Others provide a figure on their city government Web sites or have provided figures for media coverage in the recent past.

Unfortunately, programs in some cities might belong on this list, but we were unable to confirm a reliable number to

attach to the program. And certainly, it is possible the we overlooked a medium-sized city or a regional solid waste district operating a program that is worthy of making this list.

If you are affiliated with a program that should have been on the list, please let us know so that we can let our readers know. You can contact Editor Brian Taylor at btaylor@gie.net.

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