Landfill Switches to New Recycling Program Beginning Next Week
A formal opening of the updated recycling facility is scheduled for next Wednesday.
Beginning with the opening of a new facility at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation next week, residents of Rhode Island will no longer have to separate bottles and cans from paper for recycling.
The Providence Journal reported this week that the company is sending out an informational mailer to let residents know of the switch.
A formal opening of the new Materials Recycling Facility, which will sort all recyclable materials in what is called a "single-stream" system, is scheduled for June 6 starting at 9 am at RIRRC.
The website ecoRI reported in March that RIRRC had delayed the start of its new "Recycle Together RI" program to allow cities and towns extra time to prepare for the shift.
RIRRC officials are also planning to use a different term than "single-stream," to prevent people from thinking that they can throw trash in their recycling containers, ecoRI reported.
During the 2011 legislative session, state Sen. Frank Lombardo (D-Dist. 25) and Rep. Stephen Ucci (D-Dist. 42) sponsored a bill that would allow RIRRC to accept recyclable materials from out of state at the Central Landfill. Both chambers of the General Assembly approved the plan, and Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed the bill into law last summer.
Lombardo said at the time that the additional revenue from accepting out-of-state recycling could net Johnston at least $500,000 per year.
The Landfill is still prohibited by state law from accepting trash from outside of Rhode Island.
Peter A. Filippi III
9:58 am on Thursday, June 7, 2012
When you consider the longevity of the landfill, which I believe has just about another 20 years, to allow out of state dumping that would speed that up primarily to adhere to the outrageous costly promises of the past it’s a shame that our leadership could be so inhumane, Peter A. Filippi III
Joseph Hutnak
2:16 pm on Thursday, June 7, 2012
Hi Peter:
Just to clarify (as mentioned in the article above), the Central Landfill is still prohibited by law from accepting out-of-state trash.
The out-of-state recycling materials would be sold and transported off the property, as is the current practice with in-state recyclables.