City Council will consider tonight no longer allowing Charleston residents to use their recycling bins for curbside pickup.
Last month, council's Environment and Recycling Committee voted to repeal a clause of the city's rules that allowed residents to use the bins in lieu of the plastic bags it provides.
That exception was added last year to Charleston's amended recycling ordinance that no longer required sorting as part of its move to a single stream, or commingling, programs.
Council members passed the single stream measure under the assumption that it would be more convenient for residents and increase recycling rates.
Public Works Director Gary Taylor said during a recent meeting of the Environment and Recycling Committee that 20 or 30 percent of Charleston's residents are recycling, but the city hasn't formally measured the rate of participation in residential recycling.
Taylor told the committee that Raleigh County has been throwing away about 40 percent of its recyclables, because they are getting waterlogged and can't be processed.
The city has been taking its recyclables to Raleigh County since last year when West Virginia Recycling Services -- the private company that ran the Slack Street facility -- shut down last fall.
James Young, director of the Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority said during the meeting that "recycling markets are at a 15-year low," and it's becoming more expensive to process single stream items. Young said he was told it costs Raleigh County almost $300 per ton to process single stream recyclables.
While the Solid Waste Authority is making plans for constructing a new recycling facility, Charleston would still be in a predicament with its recyclables. Young said it's not going to be affordable to process Charleston's commingled items at the new facility.
"We know that single stream is probably not going to be possible unless the market drastically changes in six months. It is what it is," Young told the committee.
City Council meets tonight at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
Reach Rachel Molenda at rachel.molenda@wvgazette.com, 304-348-5102 or follow @rachelmolenda on Twitter.