The City of Lincoln, Neb., sends approximately 19,000 tons of cardboard to landfill each year, and in an effort to reduce that number, the City Council is reviewing a new ordinance that would ban cardboard from the city landfill.
Last year, the Republican majority of the City Council approved a watered-down version of Mayor Chris Beutler's proposed recycling ordinance last year, which does not include the proposed ban on cardboard or paper.
The proposed ban states that residents must either sign up for curbside recycling with a hauler or take their cardboard to one of the city’s free recycling sites, which will receive 17 new containers for cardboard recycling.
The Lincoln Journal Star has more details:
Lincoln will begin banning cardboard from the city landfill in April 2018, under a new ordinance that is expected to be approved by the City Council next month.
Banning just cardboard from the landfill could increase the amount of material recycled in Lincoln by 40 percent, said Councilwoman Jane Raybould, who has been active in promoting recycling.
“This is a giant step forward," said Mayor Chris Beutler, who was surrounded by recycling supporters at the Friday morning news conference on the proposed recycling ordinance. Currently the city buries about 19,000 tons of cardboard in the landfill every year, he said.