This Christmas marked the first holiday season since the City of St. Louis officially ended alley recycling, and new data â along with what neighbors are seeing on the ground â suggests the cityâs new drop-off system is working better than before. Until August, the blue bin designation might have mattered more. On Aug. 15, the City of St. Louis officially discontinued alley recycling, shifting instead to designated recycling drop-off sites across the city.
While some blue bins remain in alleys, city officials stress they are no longer part of the recycling program. City leaders acknowledge the new system requires more effort from residents. âWe recognize that it is not as convenient,â said City of St. Louis Chief Operating Officer Colonel Ben Jonsson.
Jonsson says the trade-off has been cleaner recycling â and far less waste headed to landfills. âLast summer and before then, at any given month, more than 50% of what was being put in those blue dumpsters in the alleys was not actually getting to recycling,â Jonsson said. âMost of that was going to a landfill because it was so contaminated.â