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Recycle Ann Arbor

Participation Rates Targeted in Multifamily Housing

By Laura Biernat
October/November Issue, 2004

If you live in an apartment, a multi-story high rise, duplex, condomini-um, fraternity or sorority house, or any of the 23,000 multifamily housing units in the city of Ann Arbor, Recycle Ann Arbor wants your recyclables!Currently, more than half of Ann Arbor’s population lives in multifamily housing but they contribute only 25% of the total recyclables collected in the city.

Recycle Ann Arbor regularly picks up mixed paper, containers, news-papers, and glass from multifamily housing in the city. In fact, over 95% of Ann Arbor’s multifamily housing units now have the opportunity to recycle on site. So, why are participation rates so low?

One reason is that multifamily housing recycling programs everywhere have lower participation rates than single-family housing. According to a study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the curbside diversion rate for multifamily programs averaged 14.6 percent compared to 16 percent for single-family households. The study concluded that if recycling was made available to all of the 13.2 million multifamily housing units throughout the U.S., at least 847,000 additional tons of material could be diverted from the waste stream.

At least part of the disparity in participation rates locally is due to the historically high turnover of residents in multifamily housing, which has made it harder for Recycle Ann Arbor to reach and educate this segment of the population. Granted, compared to other communities across the country, Ann Arbor’s multifamily recycling program could be considered a high performer. However, there’s obviously room for improvement.

One way to increase participation is through education, especially to new residents. That’s where multifamily housing managers can play an important role by making sure their residents know how and where to recycle. Managers are encouraged to distribute RAA welcome packets that outline recycling options for their residents. Managers should also make recycling as convenient as possible for their residents by placing bins near trash receptacles and making sure that they are clearly marked to prevent contamination.

Contamination is what happens when people throw the wrong stuff in the wrong bins. It has been shown through studies by the EPA that just a few people not recycling correctly can seriously undermine an otherwise successful recycling program. Not only does it lead to contamination of the recycling bins, it also discourages others from participating by undercutting their confidence in the seriousness of the program and the likely success of their efforts.

Other small efforts can also make a difference. Management can also post signs in common areas such as near the post office boxes and in laundry rooms to encourage recycling participation. Not only is it good for the environment, increasing recycling can actually save money for multifamily housing owners and landlords by decreasing the amount of trash, and ultimately lowering their refuse collection costs.

Recycle Ann Arbor and the City of Ann Arbor want to make it clear that we are here to help make recycling easy and worthwhile for everyone. We welcome any feedback on how we can work together in order to increase recycling participation and reduce contamination. Multifamily housing managers and residents are strongly encouraged to contact Recycle Ann Arbor at (734) 662-6288 for more information, or visit us online at www.recycleannarbor.org for a complete listing of acceptable recyclable materials.

Laura Biernat is Marketing Coordinator for Recycle Ann Arbor,
a non-profit subsidiary of the Ecology Center.

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