If you haven’t gotten your new recycling bin yet, be patient

Here’s the latest on the delivery and availability of the new single stream recycling bins, and what to do if you didn’t order one by the deadline.

Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority ordered 1,250 single stream recycling bins on Aug. 10 and they are just now coming in said Frank Hammer, chairman of the WWRA board.

This was 250 more bins than had been ordered by residents, he said, adding that the cost for the order was $66,000.

As employees of WWRA have begun delivering them and the news that single stream was beginning this week, the office lines have lit up with people placing more orders.

The only size that’s left at this point is the 24-gallon bins, Hammer said. “It’s not that we don’t want to service people, but it takes time to get more bins.”

So, if you are still waiting for a bin that was ordered by the deadline, or just put in your order for a specific size, Hammer asks that everyone be patient.

In the meantime, people can use their buckets and comingle their recycling and it will be picked up on your appointed day.

Or, Hammer said, they can call WWRA and get a 24-gallon bin (while supplies last) until the new order arrives.

“We figured there were be a 25 percent increase in recycling over five years and in the first week, there’s been an increase of more than that much,” he said.

He said WWRA is taking in 210 yards a day — that’s a 30-percent increase in the first week of single stream recycling.