Thanks to his subscription for recycling service from Waste Management, Peter Kuhlmann was able to reduce his household trash until it filled just half the green bin Beaumont's solid waste customers roll out to the curb every week.

All those cans, plastics and paper products will be headed back into the trash bin - and into the landfill - with Waste Management's decision to cancel its Beaumont service because of low participation rates and higher-than-usual contamination rates, a company spokeswoman said.

The pattern has repeated itself for the past 25 years: The city tries to offer curbside recycling but ends up discontinuing it because of the expense and because too few people take the time to separate their trash.