The city recently completed the Blue Lid Pilot program, which replaced the usual dark brown recycle bin lids at certain homes with blue lids, a color commonly associated with recycling.
The select homes with blue lids saw a 9% diversion from the trash container to the recycle container, according to the program.
Public Works Director Jay Davies said this generated an increase in the recyclables the city collected.
The city is teaming with the Recycle Partnership that evaluated the impact of blue lids in reducing contamination, as well as evaluated and measured the amount of diversion from the trash entering the waste system.
It was a success, he said.
“The goal was to reduce contamination in recycle dumpsters,” Davies said. “In other words, it is a higher level signal to residents that this is where the recycling goes.”
Blue lids were put in place April 21, 2021, over an eight week period. Pre- and post-audits were conducted and inspections were made for participants.
“We know recovery of recyclables from the waste stream increases diversion and it generates additional revenues for us, particularly now days, and it reduces costs and saves landfill space,” Davies said.
The city of Peoria Solid Waste Division provides collection services to more than 60,000 households, all of which are in possession of two bins — a dark brown one for recyclables and a light brown one for trash intended for the landfill.
In a recent Peoria inspection effort, confusion regarding the proper receptacle for recycling was identified as a possible cause of contamination, which is between 22% and 23% in Peoria.
Contamination occurs when good recycled material is thrown-out due to bad material contaminating the flow and being unable to sort the two.
The nearly $175,000 project includes Peoria’s acceptance of a $35,800 grant, which the city is required to match. The Recycle Partnership is providing personnel to help with the program’s audits, educational material and consulting. The program also will seek to learn if the lids are aesthetically tolerable to residents.
The program essentially covered two city recycle routes.
City staff has chosen to continue the program to learn more about diversion before any changes are made.
“The Recycling Partnership has expressed interest in funding additional blue lid studies resulting in additional blue lids getting out there on their dime, as we study this further and really try to hone in on what makes the greatest impact with residents in getting that diversion rate where we need it to be,” Davies said.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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