Thousands of Louisville residents will soon be getting new, free 95-gallon recycling carts. The larger carts, with lids and wheels, will replace residents' current 18-gallon bins.
Carts will arrive throughout the month of June for residents in the Urban Services District. After January 1, 2022, the city will no longer pick up recycling from the old 18-gallon bins.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said in a news release the larger carts will help people recycle more. Metro public works director Vanessa Burns said the change will allow the city to switch to an every-other-week pickup schedule, which Burns said will be more efficient than the current weekly pickup schedule.
The city purchased the 28,000 new bins with help from a $721,000 grant from The Recycling Partnership, a national organization focusing on improving recycling. The grant also supports community outreach initiatives.
Metro Louisville diverts about 66,000 tons of waste from landfills through recycling each year, according to a 2018 solid waste study. However, 82% of residential waste still ends up in a landfill.
City officials are asking residents to make sure the items they’re filing the new bins with are actually recyclable. For example, plastic bags, including plastic grocery bags, should not be placed in the recycling containers.
You can check Louisvilleky.gov/RecycleCoach for more details on recyclables.
Some residents already have 95-gallon carts, which have been available for purchase from the city for $50. In the Portland and Cloverleaf neighborhoods, residents received the 95-gallon carts for free in 2012 through a Bloomberg Philanthropies grant. Officials said those residents will not receive another 95-gallon cart.
