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Leesburg staff: council approved pilot "tagging" program to reduce contamination in curbside recycling
Summary
Town staff briefed the Environmental Advisory Committee on a council-approved pilot to tag contaminated recycling bins, starting with a northwest pilot area and using partner crews to record photos and addresses for follow-up education.
Town staff told the Environmental Advisory Committee that the Town Council approved a pilot “tagging” campaign to reduce contamination in curbside recycling and that the program will begin in approximately two weeks in the northwest service area.
A staff member said town crews will work with a collection contractor (referred to in the meeting as Patriot staff) to inspect bins before trucks arrive and place an “oops” tag on containers with clearly unacceptable material. The staff member said, “They're gonna just do a cursory look. Is there something in here that clearly is not acceptable? If there's material that's clearly not acceptable, they're gonna put a tag on it that says, oops.” Tagged bins will not be collected until corrected; a blue “thank you” tag will mark compliant carts. Photos and a general address will be recorded to track error rates by neighborhood.
Staff told the committee the pilot is designed as a phased approach: begin with a small area to establish a baseline and avoid overwhelming call volume, let the MRF (material-recovery facility) provide detailed sorting data, and then use combined results for targeted public education. The pilot will consider housing type, socioeconomic factors and aim to measure refusal/error percentages across neighborhoods.
Council discussion had focused on particular materials (glass and plastics) and on year-round yard-waste collection, but staff said council deferred some decisions — for example, council did not change the town's guidance on glass in single-stream recycling. The staff member said the town will press education via the Recycle Coach app and press releases alongside the tagging rollout.
Committee members asked about enforcement, who will receive photos/addresses, and whether rejected bins would push residents to trash vs. correct their recycling; staff said the program will emphasize education first and be run in periodic waves rather than continuously. Staff expects to return with measured results after the pilot.
