On a recent trash-pickup day in her Flanders Street neighborhood on Detroit's east side, Sandra Turner-Handy rolled her blue recyclables container out next to her garbage container.
Hers was the only recyclables container visible on the curbside down the length of her block.
And it's a scene playing out across Detroit. The city's shift to privatized trash pickup last March brought with it—for the first time—the opportunity for homeowners citywide to opt in to curbside recycling. But a year later, the recycling program remains largely unused. Only about 10 percent of residents who could participate have, city officials said.