As of Monday, September 30th, The City Of Tucson began collecting residential recycling every other week as opposed to weekly.

The Tucson Environmental and General Services Department (EGSD) sent a letter to residents with the address’s new schedule for pickup, as well as a map and calendar detailing the changes. The City of Tucson states, “The frequency of recycling collection is the only change. The day of the week for collection will not change (i.e. if a resident’s regular collection day is Monday, it will continue to be Monday, just every other Monday). There will be no changes to trash collection.”

This change is taking place to help combat the increasing costs of the recycling process, as well as help reduce the carbon footprint that is caused by this process. The EGSD says, “Due to the market for recyclable commodities dropping significantly, Tucson is losing money.” They also conducted a study that showed that most blue bins were not filled by the time recycling was picked up. Extending the time between pickups will give the residents more time to collect their recyclables and it will be a more efficient use of city resources.

Residents are also able to receive a second blue bin from the EGSD free of charge if they fall under a few specific requirements. They can contact the EGSD and be put on a list to receive theirs. This change has been active for a month, and will hopefully continue to combat the ever-growing climate change crisis and help reduce the waste of the city’s resources.