FAQ: Discontinuation of Curbside Recycling

Since the City of Simpsonville discontinued curbside recycling starting in September 2021 due to its increasing costliness and ineffectiveness, you may have questions about the decision and how the City and Public Works Department are moving forward. 

1. Why did the City end curbside recycling starting in September?

The City of Simpsonville discontinued curbside recycling due to its increasing costs and proven ineffectiveness and availability of alternative options for a more comprehensive approach to sustainability.

2. Did the City hold any public meetings about the discontinuation of curbside recycling?

Yes. Simpsonville City Council discussed the discontinuation of curbside recycling at the Committee of the Whole meeting in March. The Greenville Journal and Greenville News published articles and Fox Carolina aired a story about the potential policy change. The City has published the 2021 meeting schedule for City Council on the City Council webpage. Simpsonville residents and business owners can sign up to participate in the Citizen Comments portion of Council meetings by arriving at least 15 minutes early to meetings.

3. How expensive for taxpayers is curbside recycling? 

To continue curbside recycling, taxpayers would pay about $110,000 per year, which includes $50,000 for personnel and $60,000 for disposal. First-year costs would add an additional $436,000 to pay for trucks and cans.

4. Why are the costs for curbside recycling increasing?

The City pays Pratt Industries upwards of $5,000 per month, or about $60,000 per year, to accept recyclables. Pratt once paid the City around $3,000-$5,000 for recyclables but started charging for the service in December 2019 at a rate of $25/ton. That rate increased to $45/ton four months later, and now the rate stands at $65/ton, a 160 percent increase from the initial rate. There is no guaranteed maximum rate for Pratt to accept recyclables. When China enacted its National Sword Policy¹ of refusing to accept any more recyclables from the U.S. due to what the Chinese government said was contamination, the recycling industry entered its current crisis. Recycling is less profitable than it once was, and processing recyclables has become an added expense for waste management companies, which past those costs onto cities like Simpsonville.

5. How ineffective is curbside recycling? 

Curbside recycling is considered single-stream recycling, which involves placing all recyclables in one bin pickup. An estimated 25 percent² of recyclable material in single-stream recycling ends up in landfills due to contamination, according to the National Waste & Recycling Association. While single-stream recycling can be convenient for residents, the practice increases the likelihood of contamination, which is the cited issue by China for banning U.S. recyclables. Single-stream recycling also makes sorting recyclables difficult when materials are mixed together and plastics are co-mingled³.

6. How effective is dual-stream recycling?

Dual-stream recycling involves the collection of recyclables at one location, such as a residence, and transfer of said recyclables to a second location, such as a recycling drop-off center. Because most recycling drop-off locations require the public to separate their materials, the recyclables are sorted more properly and are less contaminated since more attention has to be paid to each item⁴.  

7. Should I continue placing my recyclables on the curbside for pickup?

Because recycling is a personal decision, the choice to continue recycling is yours. If you wish to continue using curbside recycling, you may put your recyclables in the provided recycling can at the curbside until September. Be sure you know how to properly sort and clean recyclables to ensure as much recyclable material as possible avoids the landfill. Visit the Greenville County recycling webpage for more information on local recycling.

8. Where are the nearest recycling drop-off locations to Simpsonville?

• Brookwood Church at 580 Brookwood Pointe Place, Simpsonville 29681
• City Park at 405 E. Curtis St., Simpsonville 29681
• Conestee Park at 840 Mauldin Road, Mauldin 29607
• Fountain Inn Elementary School at 608 Fairview St., Fountain Inn 29644
• Greenville County Drop-off Sites
• The City will create a new recycling station at the Public Works Department. 

9. Who owns the recycling containers at the drop-off locations?

Greenville County operates the recycling drop-off locations and therefore owns the containers.

10. Do recyclables taken to recycling drop-off centers end up in the landfill, too?

Because dual-stream recycling requires recyclers to properly sort and handle each item, fewer recyclables are contaminated and less trash is co-mingled with recyclables, thereby resulting in fewer recyclables ending up in landfills. Dual-stream recycling results in reduced contamination, better quality materials and better market access⁵.

11. Will the new way of recycling in Simpsonville require extra effort?

For residents who choose to continue recycling by dropping recyclables off at recycling centers, recycling will require extra effort. However, the City of Simpsonville and Public Works Department believe the vast majority of recyclers in Simpsonville believe enough in recycling to make the extra effort to continue protecting the environment. Instead of special trips to recycling centers, drivers can stop by a location while running errands or on their way to another destination.

12. Are there alternative options to residents' transporting their recyclables to recycling centers themselves? 

A company called Recyclops is considering expanding into Greenville County and the City of Simpsonville. The service is by subscription, and Recyclops drivers will come by your residence in a truck biweekly to pick up recyclables from your doorstep for only $12/month. Residents who want to keep the convenience of curbside recycling can continue paying for the service, while residents who do not mind visiting drop-off sites or do not want to recycle at all do not have to pay for curbside recycling.

13. Are there alternative options to recycling?

Yes! Reducing and reusing are way more effective than recycling at reducing waste and positively impacting the environment⁶. Reducing and reusing improve waste reduction by preventing pollution resulting from obtaining raw materials; saving energy; reducing greenhouse gas emissions; saving money; reducing the amount of waste that will need to be properly recycled or sent to landfills and incinerators and allowing products to be used to their fullest extent. Visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency webpage on reducing waste for more information: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

14. What will happen to my recycling can when curbside recycling ends in September?

Before ACE Environmental assumed sanitation service, residents could pay a $25 registration fee for curbside recycling, after which residents would receive a recycling can from the City, which remained the owner of the recycling cans. ACE Environmental (which was recently purchased by Meridian Waste) bought the recycling cans from the City and will retrieve the cans at the end of the contract in September.

The trash cans purchased by residents for $75 from the City before ACE took over trash service remain the property of residents.

15. Will the City or Public Works pick up my recycling can?

No. Because Meridian Waste owns the recycling cans, Meridian Waste will retrieve recycling cans at the end of its contract with the City in September.

16. Will there be any refunds for trash or recycling cans?

Because residents never purchased recycling cans, no refunds will be owed. The only cans that will be removed from residences are the recycling cans that residents received after paying a $25 registration fee for curbside recycling service before ACE Environmental assumed trash and recycling pickup. The City remained the owner of the recycling cans before selling them to ACE. The trash cans for which residents paid $75 to the City before ACE took over trash pickup are the property of the resident who purchased them.

Over the spring and summer, the City of Simpsonville and Simpsonville Public Works Department will be providing residents with the information, knowledge and resources to continue recycling properly and increasing reducing and reusing habits. Stay tuned for a Simply Sustainable Simpsonville!

¹SWANA Report: National Sword Impact & Solutions; Piling Up: How China's Ban on Importing Waste Has Stalled Global Recycling

²The Era of Easy Recycling May Be Coming to an End

³Are curbside recycling programs really effective?

⁴Taking sides on single- or dual-stream recycling

⁵Dual Stream vs. Single Stream Recycling

⁶Reducing and Reusing Basics