New York City: recycling more costly than garbage.

• Position: News & Numbers

According to a study by the New York City Independent Budget Office, it costs more for the city to collect and dispose of each ton of recycling than each ton of garbage. IBO estimates that the cost per ton of the city's curbside and containerized recycling program is $291, which is 13 percent more than the cost per ton of handling the city's garbage, $257.

IBO attributes the higher cost of recycling to the lower productivity of recycling collection, measured as tons collected per truck shift. "Since the volume of recycling set out at curbside is less than that of garbage, a truck shift of the same--or even greater--distance will collect less in recycling than it will in garbage," the study explains. "Simply put, the cost of paying two uniformed sanitation workers to drive an eight-hour shift collecting recyclables is the same as the cost of paying them for an eight-hour shift collecting trash, but yields fewer tons of recyclables than the same shift would yield tons of refuse. The result is a higher cost of collection per ton."

IBO predicts that the gap in costs will shrink as exporting the city's garbage becomes more expensive and as the city fully restores its recycling program in April. In 2003, New York suspended the collection of glass and plastic recyclables to reduce expenses. However, the...