Just last month my municipality implemented single stream recycling. Like many other local governments, my well intentioned town succumbed to the waste hauling propaganda that single-stream collection is the recycling panacea. According to proponents, single-stream recycling increases collections rates, reduces hauling costs, and keeps more recyclables out of landfills. While this sounds like recycling at its best, in actuality, recyclables collected under the single-stream system are less likely to be recycled and more likely to be buried in landfills than those collected in source separated (deposit, dual stream, and triple stream) systems. (more…)