Recycling Bin Not Empty on Collection Day? Chalk It Up to a Learning Curve

Residents in Farmington and Farmington Hills who have found items left in the bottom of their new, larger recycling bins may just need to be a little patient as operators learn how to empty them.

But Resource Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County (RRRASOC) director Mike Csapo said residents can also take steps to ensure everything gets dumped into the new trucks. 

"It's a learning curve for the truck drivers," Csapo said, noting they may need to learn how to "wiggle" the bins so they empty. 

The much larger size of the bins may lead residents to put larger pieces of cardboard in them, and when you fold those pieces a few times, they become springs, Csapo explained. 

"Sometimes, they wedge in there," he added. "We ask that residents are putting material into the carts to limit the size of what they're putting in."

Csapo said almost every residence should have a new recycling bin now; only a handful of the smaller carts have not been delivered. The good news: "We've seen a big increase in participation." 

Waste Management and RRRASOC track how many residents put out their carts. The average percentage has soared from around 70 percent before the new carts to 96 percent last month. 

"Everybody seems to have embraced the use of the carts," he said.