ABSTRACT
The rapid growth of the residential recycling industry has been followed, after a considerable lag, by the emergence of new data on the structure and performance of recycling programs. S. Apotheker and B. Stevens provide more detailed information about the organization of the recycling industry in selected US cities. Households in Eau Claire can buy recycling services from one of several trash-hauling firms, sell their recyclables to a private recycling center, or haul them to one of several rural drop off sites operated by the county. Information on residential recycling patterns in Eau Claire is taken from a survey conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 1992. Households who used the private dropoff center reported recycling habits similar to those of households purchasing curbside collection. Net recycling costs for each city were calculated by subtracting "ineligible costs", yard waste costs, and revenue from sales of recyclables from reported total recycling costs.
