![\"flowchart1web\"](\"http:\/\/ibo.nyc.ny.us\/cgi-park2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/flowchart1web.png\")
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- Only about 28 percent of aluminum cans collected by the Department of Sanitation are captured in the metal\/glass\/plastic stream.<\/li>\n
- This below-average rate may in part reflect the more frequent scavenging of cans from the city\u2019s recycling bins than trash cans. This takes aluminum cans out of the recycling stream, but leaves them in the refuse stream and headed to landfills. Aluminum is one of the most valuable recycled metals providing greater incentives for scavenging.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"flowchart2web\"](\"http:\/\/ibo.nyc.ny.us\/cgi-park2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/flowchart2web-1.png\")
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- Plastic dishware, which includes single use plastic cups, plates, and cutlery, has the lowest capture rate\u2014only 5 percent of the material collected enters the recycling stream.<\/li>\n
- Plastic dishware is part of rigid plastics, which was added as a voluntary category for recycling in 2013\u2014during the Waste Characterization Study period. It did not become a required recycling category until after the study ended. It can take years for recycling rates to rise as New Yorkers learn about items added to the list of recyclables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"flowchart3web\"](\"http:\/\/ibo.nyc.ny.us\/cgi-park2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/flowchart3web.png\")
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- Green container glass has the highest capture rate of any material category, with 75 percent of this glass in the waste stream being recycled.<\/li>\n
- Glass has a long history of being recycled and public awareness is high, boosting the capture rate. Additionally, glass is not a valuable recycling commodity; only bottles that require a deposit have value outside the city waste stream.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"flowchart4web\"](\"http:\/\/ibo.nyc.ny.us\/cgi-park2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/flowchart4web.png\")
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- Cardboard boxes and related paper products have one of the highest capture rates of any material, with 71 percent entering the paper recycling stream.<\/li>\n
- The city has a long and uninterrupted history of paper recycling. The high capture rate may also reflect the ease of recycling large foldable items like boxes.<\/li>\n
- Paper is the only material for which commodity prices exceed the cost of processing\u2014meaning that New York City is paid to recycle paper.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Prepared by\u00a0Daniel Huber
\n\u00a0New York City Independent Budget Office<\/em><\/p>\nPrint version available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
SOURCES:\u00a0New York City 2013 Residential Waste Characterization Study<\/p>\n