How come apartment buildings don't recycle?

Question

My entire city recycles except for apartment buildings. Every apartment I 've been to doesn't have a recycling trash can or anything.

Answer 1

Mostly due to cost. Commercial buildings generally always pay for recycling services, where residential programs are usually financed by the town/city/municipality you live in. The building owners generally don't want to spend the money, so they can spend it on other things, or more likely to increase their profit.

I agree with the first poster that higher end buildings generally do recycle. There is more money to pay for the service. I surmise that the tenants of such high end buildings are usually more "green", or socially conscious, and hence demand recycling.

What buildings have to recycle is up to individuals, cities/towns/municipalities. Most will require some type of recylcing in the residential properties, and have various rules for what commercial buildings have to do. The owners of commercial buildings generally lobby to be exempt from recycling, for reason preveously meantioned.

Answer 2

I work at a apartment community and we have tried to recycle but in the end the recycle bin would be full of regular trash. We tried sending flyers about the situation and after a few weeks it was right back to co-mingled trash. I am guessing that other properties have the same problem if they do not recycle as well. If the residents of the apartment community to not participate or at least follow a few simple rules then it makes it impossible for us to join in a do a good thing such as recycling. We do try to be responsible, really.

Answer 3

Recycling on the scale from an apartment is a huge job. If each person gives one bin full of recycleable material, and there is about 50KG in each, times it by 100 people who live there and it is alot. We don't have the recycling facilities to be able to cope with that amount at the moment. It is highly unfair, as now we can be fined, whilst they sit there all happy not having to.

I think you ought to take this matter to your council, I would, but there are no flats near me!

hope this helps and answers your question

Answer 4

I actually live in a low end shytty apartment because the city I live in is realllly expensive. So I don't think it's a cost issue.

My apartment complex has at least 7 barrels that have different compartments for sorted recycling. I think it's up to the apartment managers/owner weather or not to provide such service. It might be lack of environmental education on the apartments end.

Answer 5

My Father is the Super of two apt buildings and he has all the recycling clearly labled and easily accessible to the tenants, however many of them always mess it up. They often throw mixed trash in, or put their recyclables in, inside a grocery bag. If his buildings do not recycle it's because of tenants inadequacies.

Answer 6

Where we lived poor people would take the recyclables out of the dumpsters so they could sell them. After a while so the apartments just discontinued the service.

Answer 7

I guess its harder to fine them because everyone would be dumping regular trash into the recycle bin and vice versa

Answer 8

A lot of the higher end apartments do - it's a cost thing for most of them.

Answer 9

Try calling th e trash company your self, also maybe just maybe the trash workers sort before dumping into the landfill!!peAce~

Answer 10

My apartment has a seperate container for glass and plastic to recyle so some do