The City of Georgetown will begin single-stream recycling services through Texas Disposal Systems on Nov. 1. The program, approved by City Council on Aug. 14, will allow residents to recycle a wider range of objects.

Other cities with similar programs in Williamson County include Hutto, Pflugerville and Round Rock, which started in January 2011.

The five-year TDS contract includes solid waste, single-stream recycling and seasonal yard trimming collection.

Georgetown had previously offered weekly curbside solid waste collection and recycling in 18-gallon bins. Single-stream recycling will replace the 18-gallon bin with a 96-gallon wheeled cart that will be collected every other week on solid waste collection days. Bins will be distributed Oct. 15–30, and the service will cost $16 for residents, an increase of less than $2 from the previous solid waste and recycling rates, and $22 for customers outside city limits who receive other city utility services, an increase of $5.

If residents find the 96-gallon cart is too large, it can be traded for a smaller bin. However, Georgetown Utility Systems is asking residents to try the 96-gallon cart for at least a month before switching. The first trade for a different-sized cart is free, but each additional trade will cost $30.

"Everyone will be issued one of those [96-gallon carts]. It will be a very distinctive color from the trash cart," said Rachel Osgood, solid waste/recycling coordinator with GUS. "On the top will be a big sticker with pictures and wording instructing people what they can and cannot put in."

Single-stream recycling increases the number of accepted recyclable items, and Georgetown residents will no longer have to separate their recyclables. The items are separated and prepared for recycling at material recovery facilities such as Texas Disposal Systems' MRF in Creedmoor, Osgood said.

"In the old days you had to rinse your cans, remove the labels and separate these things—keep your plastics and your glass separate from your newspaper," Osgood said. "Single-stream means you pitch everything in together because it gets sorted out and separated at the MRF."

Single-stream recycling is expected to increase the amount of solid waste material recycled in Georgetown. A July 2010 report shows the city of Pflugerville recycled approximately 56.5 tons of material before implementing single-stream recycling, but four months after the switch, figures jumped 258.9 percent. The city hit a record high in July with 325 tons recycled, according to a city manager's report submitted to Pflugerville City Council on Sept. 10.

What goes in the recycling cart:

  • Paper and office paper
  • Boxboard and corrugated cardboard (Flatten boxes before placing in cart)
  • Glass bottles
  • Plastic bottles
  • Empty metal

What cannot be recycled:

  • Garbage
  • Plastic bags
  • Styrofoam (cups, egg cartons, takeout containers)
  • Pizza boxes
  • Frozen food boxes
  • Pet food bags
  • Broken glass
  • Light bulbs or fluorescent tubes
  • Hazardous or medical waste
  • Batteries
  • Sharp metal
  • Motor oil bottles
  • Aerosol cans

[Correction: Aerosol cans were incorrectly listed as recyclable.]