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Great news in the Boston Globe today regarding Lowell’s recycling program although you wouldn’t know it by the headline (Recycling doubles, but many left out). Yes, there are still many households, particularly apartment and condominium dwellers, that have been unable to participate in Lowell’s new recycling program, but the statistics from those who can participate are truly impressive: “Compared with the same six-month period last year, paper recycling has increased by 41.5 percent since March, while recycling of tin, aluminum, and plastic products increased by 53.2 percent…” Those are huge increases in a short time period and clearly demonstrate that the majority of Lowellians want to recycle.

The article focuses, however, on tenants who are not able to participate in the city’s program. One example shows how tenants had their private trash hauler include recycling as part of its disposal contract, which resulted in reducing waste by a third and ultimately saved money on disposal fees. This could be a solution for many of the multi-unit buildings left out of the city’s solid waste and recycling program. Overall, the city’s renewed focus on recycling is economically and environmentally smart, and kudos to all involved in continuing efforts to improve the program.