As appeared in…
www.crej.com
Starting a recycling program
in your multifamily community
T
he Environmental
Protection Agency
reports the United States
produces approximately 220
million tons of garbage a year.
More than 80 percent of this
garbage is deposited in land-
fills, 10 percent is incinerated
and 10 percent is recycled. If the
average apartment community
has 200 units with an average
of three occupants, more than
3,000 pounds of trash a day is
placed in property dumpsters
and deposited in our local land-
fill.
One effective way to reduce
the amount of waste entering
the landfill is to recycle. Starting
a recycling program on a mul-
tifamily community takes a
little planning but can have a
positive impact on the environ-
ment and property operations.
Besides decreasing waste enter-
ing our landfills, recycling can
reduce the costs associated with
waste removal. In many cases, it
can cost less to remove recycled
materials than trash disposal.
n Recycle bins. Calling the
company that picks up your
garbage is a good place to start
in implementing a recycling col-
lection process. Here are some
important questions to ask the
recycling vendor:
1. Does it provide outside col-
lection containers?
2. How often will it pick up
the materials?
3. Can all recycle materials be
placed in one container?
4. Is there a fee for the collec-
tion service? If so, how is that
fee calculated?
5. Will the company provide
information on how much mate-
rial has been collected?
6. Does it
provide signs
and educa-
tional mate-
rial for the
residents?
The num-
ber of recycle
bins that must
be placed on
your prop-
Lisa Lunger erty will be
Manager of real based on
estate services,
how often the
Colorado Housing
materials will
and Finance
Authority, Denver. be picked up.
Lunger is a certified A reasonable
EcoBroker. guideline is to
provide one-
quarter cubic yard of container
for every three residents. For
example, a 200-unit community
with three occupants per unit
would require 50 cubic yards
of capacity. In most programs,
the recycle bins are located next
to the regular trash dumpsters,
so it is important that they are
clearly marked so garbage is
not accidentally put in the recy-
cle containers. It is important
to check with local government
regulations to learn if there are
any recycling ordinances in
place before implementing a
program.
n Common areas. Be sure
to provide recycling containers
in all common area locations
such as in the laundry and mail
room. To prevent identity theft
from discarded mail, it is impor-
tant to have a secure site for
disposal. If possible have a mail
slot located in a wall where mail
can be put through and only
retrieved by staff.
n Resident participation.
Resident involvement is the key
FEBRUARY 6–FEBRUARY 19, 2008
element to the success of a recy-
cling program. Once you have
launched your program, the
best way to get maximum par-
ticipation is to continually edu-
cate and involve the residents.
Updating the progress of the
program in a monthly newslet-
ter and informing the residents
on the amount of waste that has
been recycled will amaze and
motivate them. Include recy-
cling information and guide-
lines at the time of move-in to
all new residents, and use the
program as a marketing tool for
potential residents.
Have fun activities planned
to get your residents involved.
Create a Web site on energy
issues and planned activities.
Have a collection area for alumi-
num cans and use the proceeds
for resident activities or donate
the money to a charity (www.
cansforcharity.org). Have a resi-
dent party, and cook the meal on
a solar oven (www.solarcooking.
org). Many planned activities
can be opportunities to include
the surrounding neighborhood
and expand the awareness of
recycling.
n Turning a property
“green.” There are many rea-
sons we can think of to avoid
starting a recycling program.
“Recycling will take too much
time." "It will cost too much."
"My property is too small to
make a difference.” These are
just a few of the excuses used
to justify our lack of action.
Instead, we should be focused
on the decisions we make in
operations that can have a big
impact on the environment.s