When it comes to recycling, some people do it.
"I have to sort the recycling at my apartment, load it up in the car and drive to the recycling center," one resident says.
Others don't.
"With my busy schedule it's kind of hard to if it's not available right there which sounds kind of lazy but it's true," another Davenport resident says.
Paige Tirone drives 25 minutes to Davenport to do it, but says most probably don't.
"It's a little bit of a hassle to do that and with busy schedules it takes a lot of time," she says.
The Scott County Waste Commission says about 41 percent of everything that goes into its landfill is recyclable, getting those numbers down could help free up landfill space.
Now the recycling center is trying to get these bins in a convenient spot downtown so more can get recycling.
"Downtown Davenport has the fastest growing residential population of the entire Quad Cities because of the new loft apartments being renovated," Erin Vorac of the Scott County Waste Commission says.
The center got $10,000 from the DNR to add the bins, but it's only a temporary solution to a bigger problem.
"The easiest thing we could do to get something in place was to add a drop off recycling locations," Vorac says.
Setting up recycling at apartments and hotels is hard because of extra costs and logistics. It's hard to figure out a convenient way to pick up recycling for many apartments so there's often no curbside pickup, forcing residents to drive out of their way to drop it off at a recycling center.
"As technologies advance and things happen in the future maybe there's some other opportunities," Vorac says.
For now, the center is watching other areas like Iowa City which are using pilot programs to try and figure out the apartment issues. Until then, they're working with this.
"The key to recycling is making it convenient," Vorac says.
The recycling center is still working with Davenport city leaders to find a good spot for the bins downtown. They're hoping to get them in place by the end of this year.
To find out more about where and what you can recycle, please visit the Scott County Recycling Center website at: http://www.wastecom.com/Content/Facilities/Scott-Area-Recycling-Center.aspx
