All recyclable materials are combined

all recyclable materials are combined Single-stream processing is new, it’s high-tech and it’s unquestionably innovative, but for a number of reasons many municipalities in Waldo County have passed on it. For some of those that have adopted single-stream, the benefits remain to be seen.

In single-stream recycling, all recyclable materials are combined, compacted and transported to a sorting facility where a combination of high-tech machinery and workers separate the materials.

Single-stream services often claim a longer list of recyclable items than municipal transfer stations, and since consumers don’t have to separate recyclables by material, the logic goes that more people will recycle and as a consequence contribute less to the waste stream, apparently saving money and the planet in one graceful turn.