The city will consolidate its recycling drop-off sites from 19 neighborhood sites to four or five main collection sites to save an estimated $2 million per year.
The change is expected to be completed in December.
Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director Liz Elliott said the decision increases efficiency and will help the division manage budget restrictions caused by the pandemic.
“Requiring our collector trucks to drive to 19 different locations to pick up bins and then transfer them to our solid waste operation is expensive and not sustainable,†she said.
Elliott said LTU will begin closing sites as early as next week. Signs notifying residents of site closures and directing residents to other sites will be posted during the transition.
Two current collection sites have been selected as final sites: the Seacrest Field parking lot at 70th and A streets and the North 48th Street Transfer Station at 5101 N. 48th St. These sites will be expanded as other sites are closed.
People are also reading…
The other two or three locations have not been determined, and new sites will be available to all Lincoln and Lancaster County residents.
Elliott said the new larger sites will be designed to accommodate an increased amount of recyclables. She said the consolidation will also allow for better security to monitor for overflow and illegal dumping. Putting trash in recycling bins is a misdemeanor offense.
Data provided by recycling collectors show the number of residents who invested in curbside recycling grew 24% from 2017 to 2018. About 40% of single-family households now subscribe to curbside recyclables collection in Lincoln. Data also show that residents with curbside pickup recycle four-and-a-half times more material than others.
Lincoln’s cardboard ordinance remains in effect. Since cardboard diversion began April 2018, Lincoln has diverted an additional 14,000 tons of cardboard per year.Â
The latest information on recycling and the consolidation is available at .