Mayor Bill Peduto Proposes Recycling Expansion Plan

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto unveiled plans today to provide thousands more blue recycling bins to city residents in an effort to meet zero waste goals.

"As the recycling industry and our climate continue to change, Pittsburgh needs to keep adapting to a stronger culture of waste reduction and material reuse," Mayor Peduto said. "A strategic plan for purchasing and deploying blue recycling bins citywide will make that culture change more accessible, equitable and meaningful for all."

Peduto is proposing adding an additional $500,000 to the city budget in 2020 to begin the purchasing of the new recycling bins.

This money would have to be approved by the Pittsburgh City Council.

Although the distribution plan for this new proposal has not been finalized yet, residents should plan to be alerted when they are available, which will likely be early next year.

Since 1991, recycling in Pittsburgh has been mandatory through residents putting recyclable materials in blue plastic bags. These bags have caused clogging in equipment at recycling facilities and have degraded the quality of recyclables, increasing the cost to the city.