Jump to main content.


Community Recycling Success Stories

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

Image of neighborhood street.

As communities across the country face new challenges to sustaining their residential recycling programs, many have developed successful strategies for maintaining and expanding these programs. Each community confronts unique challenges based on demographics, geography, and recycling markets.

The following case studies examine recycling programs in two different communities, with a focus on single-family household programs, multi-family household programs, and commercial programs. These case studies provide lessons learned, and may provide ideas for adapting your recycling program to the new recycling era.

Case Study: Beaverton, Oregon
Public education, material sorting, and financial incentives enabled Beaverton to achieve a 59 percent recycling rate.

Case Study: Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County provides the same convenient, simple recycling services to single and multi-family residences. The county commercial MRF uses sales agreements with individual commercial generators to boost businesses' recycling rates.


Local Navigation




Jump to main content.