City Council approves move to single-sort recycling

The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor R.T. Rybak approved a plan to switch the city's recycling program to a single-sort system where households don't have to separate their recyclables, the Star Tribune reports.

According to MPR News, the city's recycling rates have been stagnant around 18 percent for the last decade. Studies suggest that the switch could almost double that number to 32 percent of all household waste.

A report also found that a single-sort system could decrease costs overall, but the city would first have to invest in new trucks and recycling carts for homeowners.

The single-sort system is part of an effort to reach sustainability goals set by the county for the city of Minneapolis. Hennepin County wants Minneapolis to achieve a 35 percent recycling rate by 2020, Steve Kotke, director of public works for Minneapolis, told MPR.