Delaware Audubon and the Delaware Nature Society have sent recommendations to Governor Ruth Ann Minner for essential elements of a statewide curbside recycling program.

"We believe it's fair to say that Delaware lags far behind many other states in the amount of waste diverted or recycled from the wastestream," the letter says. So the two environmental organizations have "prepared a listing of what we consider to be essential elements for an effective curbside recycling bill."

The organizations said, "The development of this set of essential elements was guided by a desire to minimize cost increases to the general public, to end the windfall to wholesalers from unclaimed bottle deposits, to rationalize and make more efficient the collection of residential solid waste, and to use economic incentives so households will benefit economically from greater recycling."

Among the recommendations:

• The program should be fully implemented statewide within 3 years of enactment of the legislation.
• The fee structure should be based on the amount of waste disposed ("pay as you throw") to provide an economic incentive for recycling as much material as possible.
• Unclaimed bottle deposits should be used to help offset the cost of the program.
• Placing a surcharge on the tipping fee at Delaware Solid Waste Authority (DSWA) landfills should cover the balance of the program costs.
• All Delaware residents must keep their household recyclables and yard waste separate from their trash.
• Yard waste should be banned from landfills within one year of enactment of the curbside recycling program. [See full document for details.]
• The method of recycling would be single-stream; no separation of individual recyclables would be required.
• Residents who haul their own trash must recycle by using the drop-off centers that would be available at DWSA's landfills and transfer stations.
• The oil recycling, household hazardous waste, and electronic goods programs will continue to exist, but may be modified based on the reduction in the number of drop-off sites.
• DSWA would establish a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) to process the recyclables and would also provide transfer stations in Kent and Sussex Counties to manage the recyclables collected in those parts of the state.

Read the complete documents here:

• Cover letter from DAS and DNS to Gov. Minner's Office.
• "Essential Elements of a Statewide Curbside Recycling Program for Delaware"

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This page was last updated on May 7, 2005.