DARIEN, Conn. Darien residents wont have to worry about sorting their recyclable materials because the town will be switching to single-stream recycling soon.
The process has been available in town for about a year, since individual companies started offering it. But this is the first time that the community as a whole will be adopting the practice.
First Selectman Jayme Stevenson announced the decision at Monday nights Board of Selectmen meeting. Switching has been discussed for some time, she said, but she and Public Works Director Bob Steeger decided to make the change after seeing the positive effects in Greenwich after it switched to single stream. Stevenson said she expected Darien to experience increased revenue from recycling as a result of the switch.
Single-stream recycling allows residents to throw all of their materials into one container, except for food scraps. Residents will be able to recycle even plastic bags, she said. After the trash is hauled off, it is taken to Willimantic and sorted by a machine that can separate more than 25 tons of materials into sellable end products.
The process was praised when it was introduced to town last year. Representatives from Darien Disposal said it reduced the number of containers they had to empty and they saw an increase in the amount of material recycled. Members of the Darien Environmental Group also said it was a good system for getting people to recycle more.
Stevenson said the Public Works Department will be distributing information to residents on how the process works in the next couple of weeks.
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