"We have a very large program to begin with," said George Galbraith, superintendent of West Paterson’s Department of Public Works. West Paterson has curbside pick-ups of commingled, newspaper and corrugated cardboard trash except for tires, batteries and motor oil. Residents can bring these items to the recycling center on Browertown Road at McBride Avenue.

According to Galbraith, the recycling program in West Paterson was started in the late 80s and has continued to expand.

"We’ve always been adding to our recycling program yet we like to keep everything simple for our residents. We have them place all types of plastic and metal containers without going by the numbers located on the bottom. We feel it’s easier for the residents not to second guess themselves and put everything they think might get recycled into their recycling bins for pick up. We then can sift through the commingled recyclables and remove some items if need be," he said.

West Paterson’s recycling program is 90 percent effective, Galbraith said.

"We don’t want to micromanage our residents in terms of making sure of what they’re recycling because that wouldn’t be practical."

Newspapers are to be placed in brown paper bags for pickup without being placed in plastic bags, he said. West Paterson currently does not recycling plastic bags but there are several bins set up in local supermarkets for that purpose.

The borough’s cost of getting rid of solid waste is a flat fee of $160 per ton. The cost covers the labor to pick it up twice weekly, transportation to the landfill and disposal. The landfill for Passaic Valley solid waste disposal is currently located in West Virginia. Recycling saves money for a municipality because it is the solid waste fee that is costly. The less solid waste there is-the more money saved.

"We get many calls from residents for construction debris removal after renovations to their homes have been made or various other construction projects. They usually need to get a dump truck for that and pay a contractor for debris pickup individually because it would be too expensive for the town to incorporate it into its solid waste. If we picked up incidentals like that for everyone it would blow our budget."

Totowa’s recycling program has recently expanded. An electronics bin has been added to the recycling center for residents to drop off.

"We just added the bin for computer and electronics," said a representative of the borough clerk’s office. "Residents can bring computers, monitors, televisions, CD and DVD players, stereo equipment, copiers, printers, faxes, radios, telephones - literally almost anything with a plug. We added the bin this past January and the residents use it often."

The feedback has been positive as several residents expressed that they like recycling these items instead of throwing them out with the garbage for solid waste pickup. They just need to drop it off at the recycling center at 136 Furler Street in the DPW building.

In addition, residents continue to recycle all Type 1 and Type 2 plastic containers, all glass jars and bottles, and by-metal steel and aluminum cans, which can be all mixed. Residents continue to tie up their newspapers or place them in brown paper bags.

The Little Falls recycling program has recently increased as well, according to Phil Simone, superintendent of Public Works.

"We revamped our whole recycling program back in May. We doubled our commingled pickup schedule from once to twice a month. Residents can now place their plastic bottles and containers into their commingled where before they had to bring it down to the recycling center located on Sindle Avenue."

Colored glass, tin and by-metal containers also used to be separated but now can all be placed together. The only thing that still needs to stay separate are the aluminum cans which get picked up the same time as the commingled.

Residents continue to place their newspaper in brown paper bags or plastic bags for the most part.

"It would be ideal if they would use brown paper bags only but we’re not stressing that because people are going to put them out the way they want to. Our recycling contractor, Green Sky, located in Clifton, ends up taking the plastic bags off but I’m not sure if they end up recycling those or not."

The township also has a separate contract for curbside pickup and transportation of solid waste and for its disposal. The disposal charge for a ton of solid waste is $85 paid directly to the waste disposal company. There charge for pickup and transportation is separate.

Simone says residents have been very pleased with the new recycling changes and feels that they’ll be willing to recycle more frequently.

"We also started a new contract for electronics recycling. Many people bring their items at the recycling center while others call for a roadside pickup. We charge about $5 for each pickup but it has been working out quite well."