Seattle to enforce recycling – Folks in Seattle had better start recycling.

Starting January 1, 2005, city residents will have to recycle paper, cardboard, glass and plastic bottles, and aluminum and tin cans.

The Spokesman Review

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=121703&ID=s1456640&cat=section.regional

For the first year, any banned materials found in garbage cans will simply be tagged as part of a yearlong education campaign. Then in 2006, the city will quit collecting garbage from any residential customers found to have dumped recyclables in the trash three times.

Commercial customers will face fines of up to $50 dollars for each trash container that includes the recyclables listed in the new rules.

Illegal dumping would bring a fine of $250.

Single-family households will not face any monetary penalties under the new rules, which stem from a recycling rate that fell from 44 percent in 1995 to 38 percent in 2001.

The city’s goal is a 60 percent recycling rate by 2010.

City officials say customers should not worry about dramatic changes to their current service.

Garbage collectors will inspect residential trash cans for obvious infractions, such as newspapers piled on top of trash bags.