TUSTIN : City Adopts Easier Sort of Recycling

When Tustin begins its recycling program in the next six months to a year, residents will not have to sort glass, paper, plastics and aluminum products into separate bins.

The City Council this week unanimously adopted a plan that will allow all recyclable items to be placed in one container, with other trash in another container. Many cities require residents to separate glass, paper, plastic and aluminum products and place the sorted materials in bins that are picked up at the curb.

Under the Tustin plan, details of which are still being worked out, the city will provide both trash bins and automated trash trucks with robotic arms to pick up the containers.

Although Tustin officials say they do not know how much the recycling program will add to monthly trash bills, a similar program added 43 cents a month in Brea when it was adopted last November.

The automated program discourages scavenging and allows more products to be recycled than programs in which residents must sort out the items, Tustin city officials said.

And because the program is more convenient for customers, participation is generally higher, said Jennifer Raue, the Tustin administrative assistant who is coordinating the program.

Brea officials estimate that about 90% of the city’s 8,500 households participate in its recycling program.