Recycling does pay: R.I. municipalities divide $680K in profits from FY 2010

JOHNSTON - Recycling is rewarding, and not just for the environment; 36 Rhode Island towns and cities divided up $681,014 in profits from the sale of household recyclables, said the R.I. Resource Recovery Corporation on Wednesday.

The profit-sharing checks averaged $18,917, with the shares based on the amount each municipality brought in recycled tonnage to the Materials Recycling Facility in Johnston during the 2010 fiscal year.

“In a difficult year, when the markets were so unpredictable, we are proud to announce that we turned a profit at the recycling facility and now share that benefit with the municipalities who serve as our partners,” said Michael O’Connell, executive director of the quasi-state RIRRC.

North Kingstown and Charlestown performed the best, both with a 33 percent recycling rate (the amount of recycled waste as a percentage of all the waste each municipality brought in), which translated into $27,340 and $3,176 in the profit-share, respectively.

The RIRRC highlighted Portsmouth’s improvement during the year, reaching 30 percent in FY 2010 from 13 percent in 2009. Providence also received praise for the “no bin, no barrel” efforts, called Green Up Providence. The city jumped to 13 percent from 10 percent in just six months, earning $75,212.

“Nearly two-thirds of Providence household are multi-family, and they have the added burden of needing to constantly re-educate residents due to the ever-changing population and demographics”, said O’Connell, pointing to the positive effect of education materials in Spanish, community groups and ensuring that all households had access to recycling bins and collections.

The municipalities that took home the biggest checks were Warwick, with $78,033, and Cranston, which ranked third after Providence with $59,492.

RIRRC manages almost all of the state’s municipal and commercial solid waste; the facility processes more than 92,000 tons of recyclables, and the Central Landfill disposes of 750,000 tons of solid waste annually.