White Papers

Understanding economic and environmental impacts of single-stream collection systems

(December 2009)

CRI -Container Recycling Institute
www.container-recycling.org

CRI Single Stream (1417 KB)

This report describes the evolution of single-stream recycling in the United States, the recent
downturn in the scrap market for all recyclable materials, and explains factors affecting
collection costs. The real purpose of the study, however, is to examine the impacts of singlestream
recycling, as compared to other methods, on every step of the recycling process,
including:
• Initial ease of collection and collection costs;
• Contamination rates and overall material yield at Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs);
• Impacts on material yield at paper mills;
• Impacts on yield at plastics processors;
• Impacts on paper mills, on quality, quantity, equipment maintenance and costs;
• Impacts on aluminum processors on contamination levels, resulting equipment shutdowns, and profit losses;
• Impacts on glass, including color mixing, suitability for certain end-uses, and increased operating costs; and,
• Impacts on plastic quality and costs.

For more information on single stream recycling refer to the Single-Stream Recyling Controvery entry in the Zero Waste Zone Blog

THE COMPOST WHITE PAPER - Large-Scale Composting in Georgia (October 2003)

The University of Georgia 

UGA Compost White Paper (294 KB)

Commercial Foodwaste Composting - Feasibility Study for South Metro Atlanta (September 2002)

The University of Georgia 

UGA Commercial Foodwaste Composting (2684 KB)

Taking A Bite Out of Food Waste - US EPA Food Recovery Roundtable

(March 2010)