On Aug 4, 12:20*pm, Becca > wrote:
> Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> > I can't imagine that it isn't more trouble than it's worth to lock up
> > the recycling bins, esp. here in SoCal. All the recycling bins I've
> > seen at the curb aren't segregated by type (paper, cans, glass, etc.),
> > but just put into one big heap. How does that work, anyway? Do the
> > bins actually get sorted? How? Always wondered about that...
>
> They call that "single-stream" recycling. *At the recycling plant, the
> material goes through giant tumblers that include magnets and fans. *
> This is much easier for homeowners than using multiple bins.
>
> Becca

Here in my city, we use multiple bins/containers/or stacks -
newspapers in the bottom of a rectangular city-provided recycle
container; then, a brown paper bag holding plastic (rinsed, not
squashed, has to have the little diamond icon on the bottom);
flattened cardboard (like cereal boxes) in another brown paper bag
inside the rectangular container. Big cardboard (like cartons) has to
be in maximum 4' lengths/widths, and flattened into a pile; yard waste
has to be in a container with a prepaid seasonal sticker ($20 per
season) or if it's branches, tied into 4' long bundles, or if not a
seasonal sticker, it has to be in $1/bag special yard waste bags.
Our curbside recycling so far doesn't take glass or glossy/slick
magazines...we have to take those to the recycling center, already
sorted.

We may not be the future, but most of our waste does get sorted before
pickup, and people are happy to do so.

N.