## Rhode Island's recycling program shares profits
_By Jake Thomas, Resource Recycling_
Rhode Island's statewide recycling program has wrapped up its most recent fiscal year, producing substantial revenue for municipalities in the state.
During the recently-concluded fiscal year, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation saw a little under $4 million in revenue from the sale of recyclable commodities, according to Sarah Kite, director of recycling services for the quasi-governmental agency that oversees the state's recycling program.
RIRRC keeps half of the money, and the rest goes to each of the 39 municipalities in the Ocean State, based on the tonnage of recyclable commodities each town or city brought in, said Kite in an interview with _Resource Recycling_. Each municipality got $21.44 for each ton they brought in during the fiscal year.
"One thing with this profit share that is helpful is that the profit share dollars are required to be turned back into the recycling programs," said Kite. "So, the profits that are generated by the residents will go back into the program with education, or infrastructure, or hiring or a new vehicle."
The state's biggest city, Providence, brought in the most recyclable commodities at about 9,500 tons, followed by Warwick, which brought in about 9,340 tons, according to Kite. About $1.9 million was distributed to municipalities in Rhode Island, slightly down from the previous year's $1.8 million, said Kite.
"The perennials are always going to be the OCC and [other fiber]," said Kite of what was profitable. "We saw some pretty good pricing, we were surprised, with our plastics. PET and HDPE were pretty solid this year."
In June, the RIRRC replaced its dual-stream recycling system with a statewide single-stream recycling program, and Kite is anticipating what that will mean for next year's numbers. Additionally, Kite says that RIRRC wants to help cities and towns move from manual collection systems to automated systems. She also said that her organization wants to encourage them to go to every-other-week recycling.
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URL: http://resource-recycling.com/node/3091
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