And which need improvement . ( C ’ mon , Johnston .)
More than 10,000 houses served curbside GOLD STAR : East Providence , with a rate of overall material diversion from the landfill of 52 % RUNNER UP : Warwick , with a rate of overall material diversion from the landfill of 49.5 % NEEDS IMPROVEMENT : Johnston *, with a rate of overall material diversion from the landfill of 13.9 %
Reduce Redux
Recycling keeps trash mountain under control , but garbage pays its bills . BY ELLEN LIBERMAN
Calling the Central Landfill ’ s time of death has always been a moving target .
In 1986 , for example , when the Johnston dump was a mere eighteen years old , officials predicted that it would reach capacity by 1997 . In January of 2020 , the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation ( RIRRC ), the quasi-governmental agency that has run the operation since 1974 , predicted that it could keep going until 2034 . By year ’ s end , it added another six years to the forecast .
The corporation has managed the Central Landfill into middle age by enlarging it — in 2015 , it began its Phase VI expansion , adding another 100 acres — and by limiting the inflow of solid waste . In the 1980s , Rhode Island moved to prohibit other states from sending their garbage to Johnston and opened the first materials recycling center . Today , about 34 percent of all solid waste is diverted . Those strategies will see the landfill into its dotage ; they won ’ t make it immortal . Landfilling in-state is the cheapest option , but it isn ’ t cheap . Recycling glass , paper , metals and fiber — free for residential customers — incurs millions of dollars in capital investments and handling costs for the RIRRC . In 2012 , the corporation invested $ 16.9 million to upgrade its Materials Recycling Facility ( MRF ) to sort mixed recyclables , yet the average municipal recycling rate hovers at less than 30 percent .
Scrap revenues fluctuate . In 2018 , China , overwhelmed by contaminated loads , banned imported plastic waste . ( Locally , contaminated recyclables have cost some cities and towns $ 1.5 million in the last three years , as the corporation began enforcing its policy to treat contaminated loads as regular trash and charge | | CONTINUED ON PAGE 95
Fewer than 10,000 houses served curbside GOLD STAR : Barrington , with a rate of overall material diversion from the landfill of 50.7 % RUNNER UP : Middletown , with a rate of overall material diversion from the landfill of 48.8 % NEEDS IMPROVEMENT : Central Falls , with a rate of overall material diversion from the landfill of 22.6 %
Transfer stations / independent curbside collections GOLD STAR : Portsmouth , with a rate of overall material diversion from the landfill of 56.1 % RUNNER UP : Jamestown , with a rate of overall material diversion from the landfill of 51.1 % NEEDS IMPROVEMENT : New Shoreham , with a rate of overall material diversion from the landfill of 25.3 %
* Johnston has little incentive to recycle . According to its host agreement with the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation , the town pays no tipping fee on trash . Other cities and towns pay $ 47 a ton . Data via RIRRC , 2019
THIS PAGE : COURTESY OF RIRRC / INSTAGRAM . OPPOSITE PAGE : GETTY IMAGES AND RIRRC / INSTAGRAM .
44 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2021