Public Works Manager Paul Barnett said that the hope is this will increase participation. "Currently, about 26 percent of our citizens recycle. We would like to see the numbers go up," said Barnett, "and feel that by simplifying the collection process, this will happen."

Paula Davis, executive direction for Keep Akron Beautiful said, "If we are successful, this will help protect our environment, conserve energy, conserve landfill space, and reduce solid waste."

In this decade alone, it is projected that Americans will throw away more than one million tons of aluminum cans and foil, more than one and a half million tons of office paper, and nearly 10 million tons of newspaper. Almost all of this material could be recycled. Currently, Americans throw away enough aluminum every three months to rebuild the entire US commercial air fleet.

One of the problems the City has experienced is with recyclable materials being mixed with other forms of refuse. The operators picking up those materials are instructed to put in the trash anything whose ability to be recycled is questionable. To assure that this material is recycled, the City asks citizens to be careful to separate the recyclable materials and the trash by at least 10 feet on the curb.

It is a good practice is to put recyclables on one side of the driveway and the trash on the other side of the driveway. It is also helpful if citizens use blue bags to identify the recyclables. When recycling, please note that Styrofoam is not recyclable, but the following items are:

• All metal food and beverage cans.
• Glass bottles and jars of any color.
• Empty aerosol cans.
• Aluminum trays and aluminum foil.
• Rigid plastic bottles #1 and #2.
• Newspapers.
• Magazines.
• Cardboard.

For further information, please feel free to contact us at our new 3-1-1 number. If calling from a cell phone or outside of the City of Akron, dial 330-375-2311.