I put everything recyclable into paper bags. At the very least, once it's dumped out to be sorted at the facility, the paper bags can be recycled.

I moved to JC because I took a position in Edgewater, NJ and I wanted to be very close to NYC without actually being in the city. I need to drive to work, so parking and driving through JC is so much easier than having to deal with crossing the Hudson and dealing with that insane traffic. So I chose Hamilton Park and so far, I really like it. As long as I have a couple decent bars within walking distance, I'm set.

Maybe the solution would be that the city works with local hardware stores to make sure that certain style and types of recycling bins with appropriate markings (i.e. recycling symbol, plastics only, paper only, etc) are stocked, then pass a ordinance requiring all buildings buy and utilize these bins, and then fine people that don't.

Will this just lead to people throwing garbage into public trash receptacles? Probably. Will this just lead to people throwing their trash in with their next door neighbors? Probably. Does the city have enough capability and coordination to find a way to undertake this effort without cost to the taxpayers? probably not. After all, didn't you say that this city was incapable of properly managing a Girl Scout cookie fundraiser.

Actually the city would be able to manage one, but somehow it would always show a negative profit, the Girl Scouts would be forced to buy cookies from some friend, relative, or contributor to the city council, and the head girl scout would be pulling down a $100K a year job with city pension (and, of course, this would be the leader's third taxpayer paid pension).

My original post concerned all the left over recycling that is being done on a regular basis by the JCIA and how city provided recycling bins would help mitigate all the extra time it takes for collectors to pick up our recycling.

Why is this happening is the question? Yes, laziness on the part of the collectors is part of the problem. However, when I have lived in towns who did provide their citizenry with these bins there was an order to the pick up. In other words, the collectors were more easily able to discern what they were resposible to get each evening. I never woke to see left over plastic or glass staring up at me.

As it stands now, and I have witnessed this on numerous occasions, the collectors have to sift and dig through paper bags, plastic shopping bags and the odd cardboard box. This slows their progress tremendously. Yes, we need to be more mindful and responsible in our own sorting before we bring it to the curb but it's my opinion that if we all had the same bins it would be easier and more efficient for the collector. As a collector, each night you are forced to dig around since a lot of people just cram it all into plastic bags. Thus they fall behind and in order to catch up leave things behind. Trust me this is happening. Uniform, city supplied bins would simply make everyones lives that much easier and would aid in the collectors getting to the next house.

I am very happy that you, JC_DowntownRegular, have not heard all the whistling from the supervisor trying to get the coolectors to speed up but I do every Thursday night. Who knows, maybe our route driver gets a kick out of waking us up.

Secondly, I mentioned that I have had 3 plastic bins thrown out with my recycling. I had my address written on the sides of them as well. I still continue using plastic bins with my address on them but I am not getting my hopes up that they won't get "recycled" at some point.

So, perhaps there is no perfect solution but I do know this coming Friday morning I will wake to see uncollected recycling strewn down the street.

Quote:

The above does not specifically refer to plastic shopping bags - it refers to all plastic bags. In NYC, plastic/metals are placed in clear blue plastic bags.

Our building used to have a paper recycling bin that we placed outside that was clearly marked as a recycling bin, but after getting stolen and/or thrown out with the trash we no longer place the bin outside and consolidate using twine, cardboard boxes, or paper bags.

Quote:

Our building separates the regular garbage, plastics, and paper/cardboard into three separate piles.

The only reason collectors don't pick items up is because of laziness. I have watched them just pick a few bags and move along. No whistling or yelling from the supervisor involved.

People need to take responsibility for themselves. A government provided bin does not necessarily equate to people becoming responsible.

We used a $3 laundry basket from Target as our reclycling bin.

I haven't really been able to figure out what this thread is about, but that must be it.
Are all of you people renters? Is that the issue here?
I own a two family, and I've been putting out a trash can full of glass/plastic/metal and a separate can of paper/cardboard each week on recycling night.
Not a special sort of container in any way.
It's always been collected.
Are your landlords not providing containers? Do you think you need your own?

so none of you can buy or get your own recycling bin like i have?

I inherited a blue plastic "HCIA" recycling container when I moved into my house, so they did have them at one time.

Robin.

Quote:
The paper bags are a great idea for the newspaper recycling they will probably be taken along with the papers acting as a disposable container. But what about the bottles and cans what can you use to dispose of those ?
And by the way welcome to J.C. just curious what made you land here ?

Having come to JC from a suburb in Cleveland, Ohio that also didn't hand out recycling bins, I can tell you that paper bags with handles work very well in lieu of bins. Paper, plastic, and glass can all go in separate bags and the handles make transporting recyclables to the curb much easier than carrying one bulky bin. When I did live in a city that handed out the bins, they would sometimes get stolen and often times would get maggots collecting on the bottom from people who were too lazy to rinse their containers out.

Heights - Unfortunate but etirely expected considering the government we have in NJ and in JC. These guys couldn't properly manage a Girl Scout cookie fundraiser without someone being paid off and evenutally implicated on bribery or colusion charges.

The City of J.C. used to give out seperate bins for paper and plastic about 8 years ago but the State of N.J. stopped funding that program to the J.C.I.A.

I am not going to go into all the pros and cons of recycling and we must all be mindful that it better serves the environment to ?reduce and reuse? before recycling even becomes an option. That said, we all know JC has a recycling program and, like most of you, I take part in it. However, it seems most of us have become more and more incensed with the overall malaise and poor accountability/management of the JCIA. We want to place all the blame on the collectors who pick up our recycling each week but this goes much deeper. It's poorly run and the city has no money for them that is why Team Healy is trying to combine the DPW with the JCIA even though an outside law firm hired by Jersey City to study the issue recommended the city fold the JCIA into the DPW. Again Healy has something to gain or someone to keep happy at the JCIA. All that internal BS aside, I have emailed and asked the JCIA to provide plastic recycling bins to the Jersey City residents for years. Every town I have lived in had free blue or green recycling bins with the city's logo stamped into them. These will not bankrupt the city and will actually help whatever group ends up managing this recycling program in the future.

I am not emplying that we are entitled to these bins. However, the usefulness and order they would provide would make the collectors lives a lot easier and lessen the chaos they have to endure each time they pick up our recycling. The collectors would be in absolute agreement with this as they would not have to dig through plastic bags and random card board boxes to find what that particular collector is responsible for. This meaningless time spent searching is the main reason many items are left behind because their trucks are on a tight schedule and the leader of the trucks whistles to keep them moving along. God I love that constant whistling at 12:30 in the morning!

Who here knows that putting their recycling in plastic shopping bags is not allowed? From the JCIA site:

"Recyclables must not be placed out for collection in plastic bags. Placing such in plastic bags seriously hinders our recycling process. Recyclables shall be placed in large plastic containers."

Yet, I see these plastic shopping bags crammed with recycling every evening recycling is picked up. The CEO of the JCIA, Oren Dabney, knows this and yet it has continued for years.

The JCIA Recycling Program and Healy's office needs repeated phone calls and letters so that Mr. Dabney can get this sorted out. It's a complete joke when 90% of the time I and my neighbors wake up to find our sidewalks littered with bits of uncollected plastic, glass and cardboard.

I am not saying that uncollected recyling never happens in cities and townships who have these designated recycling bins but surely it is lessoned, helps these collectors with their job and, in the end, helps speed up the process.

Morever, I have had 3 of my personal plastic bins mistakingly thrown out with my recycling. Is it any surprise some of us just don't bother any more? Maybe that's what the JCIA ultimatley wants.......

Cincinnati has it figured out:

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/recycling/freeservice.cfm

As does does Newton, KS

http://www.newtonkansas.com/index.aspx?page=345

Jersey City Incinerator Authority
(201) 432-4645 ext. 600

Recycling Collection
(201) 435-1345

Jersey City Incinerator Authority
501 Route 440
Jersey City, New Jersey 07305

Oren K. Dabney, Sr., C.P.W.M./C.R.P.
Chief Executive Officer

For more info on JC recycling follow this link:

http://www.jciaonline.org/wastes.php