Draper City’s “Big 3” Recycling Program reported a successful first year with residents doing a great job recycling non-contaminated items and dropping off other recyclables at third-party locations. With modifications to the recycling program in October 2019, the city was able to reduce costs by 44%, while only reducing the tons of material recycled by 23%.
Draper City, along with several other Trans-Jordan Landfill member cities, had decided to change the recycling program due to skyrocketing prices and evidence that many submitted recyclable items were being passed on to landfills because they did not have a market value.
Draper City chose to launch the “Big 3” to reduce taxpayers’ expenses and prolong the life of the landfill. The Big 3 recycling program focuses only on corrugated cardboard, plastic bottles and jugs with necks, and metal cans from food and beverages. Here is a breakdown of the tonnage and associated costs of recycling from April 2019 to September 2019, versus the same period in 2020.
By recycling only items with market value, we were able to reduce the costs associated with “contamination.” Contamination at a Material Recycling Facility is when glass, plastic bags, mixed paper or other trash have to be removed from the single stream, bundled and then hauled to the landfill. To learn more about the Big 3 program and other recycle drop-off locations, visit bit.ly/draperrecycle.