By South Jersey Times Editorial Board
It was 1981. Faced with a near-capacity landfill that would soon shut down, Woodbury became the first municipality in New Jersey — and, arguably, the nation — to adopt a mandatory curbside recycling program.
Don Sanderson, a Republican city councilman who might well be unable to win a primary election in today’s GOP, pushed hard for the program, citing both the need to preserve disposal space and the waste of tossing reclaimable glass, paper, and metals into ordinary garbage. Even 42 years ago, there was political pushback for requiring that households separate reusable items from regular trash.
The rest, as they say, is history, and mandatory recycling later became the law all over New Jersey and elsewhere.
Recycling soon became more sophisticated. Sorting centers allowed for “single stream” pickups. Participation rates improved, since metals, glass, paper, and plastic didn’t need to be separated at home.
Related:
Is recycling worth it? A look at the costs and benefits of recycling
In recent years, though, municipal programs have been threatened by a declining resale market. The programs stopped providing enough revenue to pay for themselves. The biggest jolt was a 2017 decision by China to stop taking in mixed and often dirty shiploads of U.S. paper and plastic.
Still, curbside recycling programs have survived, even if they have not thrived.
Until now, it seems.
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