Curbside recycling finally coming to Anchorage

Well, it looks like curbside recycling is finally coming to Anchorage (or at least to parts of it). My wife and I have been dedicated recyclers for years, but the fact of the matter is, it’s not as easy as it could be. And for most people, if something isn’t easy, they just won’t do it.

Many other large cities around the size of Anchorage have had successful curbside recycling programs for years (in fact, Anchorage is the largest city in the country without curbside recycling). I’m thrilled to see this finally coming to Anchorage, but it makes me wonder what took so long?

The current plan is more of a test-run to see how well the program works for about 20 percent of Anchorage residents. The program will cover most of Anchorage’s north side – everything north of Tudor and west of Boniface. Unfortunately, this still means no curbside recycling for me. The plan also calls for additional recycling locations around town, for those that don’t live within the boundaries for curbside pickup.

Hopefully this new program will help get a much larger percentage of Anchorage residents recycling. City officials think that with the full implementation of this program, most residents will be able to recycle between 32 and 38 percent of their waste. Kudos to the city assembly for finally stepping up and bringing a curbside recycling program to Anchorage.

Photo from the Anchorage Daily News