Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson admitted that all Cleveland recyclables are being sent to the landfill. After several attempts to obtain a new recycling contract, the city was only offered one bid. The bid was around $200 per ton of recycling, which would end up costing the city around $7 Million. The mayor said that the city had a goal of breaking even, but had been turning a profit for several years when recyclables were still being purchased from overseas.
“What we as a community need to be ready for is that recycling is different than when it started, The value of recycled goods has diminished tremendously. There was a point, when we started our recycling program, where companies would pay us to take our recycling. Now, we probably have to pay people to take it. We have a community education issue as well. Only about 15 percent of Clevelanders properly recycle.”
Mayor Frank Jackson
Fox 8 broke this story last year, by placing GPS tracking devices in recyclable goods, but still many residents are shocked to hear the mayor himself confirm that all recycling is being sent to landfills. Some have pointed out this shows that Cleveland only cares about the environment when they are able to profit from it.