Alabama Student Calculates Cost Savings of Recycling
by Ashley Schiller
A business student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville has found that the city of Birmingham could save as much as $1.8 million over 10 years if it could boost its recycling participation rate to 25 percent, reports the Associated Press.
Herve Billiet, 25, recently presented his research to City Hall. Right now, the recycling participation rate in Birmingham is only one percent. Increased involvement would save the city $180,000 a year.
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Disposing of trash in a landfill costs the city about $22 a ton whereas selling recyclable materials generates $10 a ton. So reduced landfill waste and increased sales of recyclable materials would allow Birmingham to make a profit.
Billiet suggested the city create a recycling education and promotion campaign. It would initially be expensive of course, but the money would eventually come back to the city, he told AP.