Successfully growing and sustaining recycling programs can sometimes depend on something as simple as where you budget recycling expenses. As budgets are being set for next fiscal year, now is the time to think about what you want accomplish next year, how you want to fund it, and perhaps most importantly, where you want to fund it.

One often overlooked opportunity is collection efficiency. Recycling does not increase the total amount of waste that you generate. Recycling takes a portion of that waste and diverts it out of the trash into another container or containers. As a result, the more you recycle, the fewer the amount of labor and financial resources you should have to dedicate to trash collection.

Now that summer attendance has dropped, do you still need the same level of trash and recycling pickup that you had in July? Have you met with your waste hauler? Do you have a plan with your waste hauler and recycling service provider to scale back on the frequency of pickup and/or size of your containers during the off season? Have you identified when the start of next season is and when you will need additional pickups again?