POST FALLS - Dark blue is the new green in Post Falls.

Single stream recycling in the city will start the first week of October. About 9,000 dark blue 96-gallon toters that will replace the light blue ones currently used for recycling are being distributed to residents starting this week.

Single stream allows for co-mingling of 21 recyclables, including paper, junk mail, phonebooks, plastics, aluminum, cereal boxes and cardboard, as opposed to residents separating materials prior to pickup.

"This system has proven countrywide to increase recycle rates because it's so simple," said Phil Damiano, owner of Coeur d'Alene Garbage/Post Falls Sanitation.

Since implementing single stream in June in Hayden and Dalton Gardens, the recycle participation rate there is 70 percent. He doesn't know what the rate was prior to that because there was no curbside service there before, just recycling at schools.

Post Falls' recycling rate is currently at 27 percent under the "semi-sort" system in which nesting bins to separate materials are within a larger bin, but Damiano expects it to double or triple as a result of the new program.

"We expect to see a similar result to what's happened in Hayden," he said.

Recycling pickup will be every other week during residents' regular garbage collection day starting the first week of October. Garbage pickup will remain weekly.

Post Falls residents can choose to keep their existing light blue recycle bins for free or have it picked up for recycling once single stream begins. Residents will continue to use the light blue bins for recycling throughout September.

With their new toters, residents receive information on single stream, a calendar of pickup dates and what's recyclable under the program and what's not.

"It is extremely convenient and will accept some materials that are currently not taken such as mixed paper and junk mail," said Eric Keck, Post Falls city administrator. "Almost all of the materials turned in as recyclables will remain locally and be repurposed right in our own region. The program will also hopefully have the impact of lengthening the life of our county landfill."

Materials will be picked up from homes with an automated system, transported to Blue Bird Recycling in Coeur d'Alene and sorted in Spokane.

Glass and wax-coated cardboard, including some produce boxes, are among the items not accepted. If wax can be extracted from a box with your fingernail, it's not recyclable. The materials, including aluminum trays that held food, should be cleaned prior to recycling.

The Post Falls City Council approved single stream recycling earlier this year. A similar program under Waste Management started in Coeur d'Alene last year. Recycling in that city increased 100 percent - from 27 to 54 percent - as a result of the move.

Post Falls collection rates will not increase as a result of the single stream program. However, residential rates will increase 4 percent from $9.61 to $9.99 in October as a result of the city's pre-existing contract with the sanitation firm that was prior to approval of the single stream program.

Free fall pickup starts Saturday in Post Falls

Post Falls' free fall cleanup and pickup starts on Saturday.

City residents with a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday garbage route must place items they want hauled away at the street by 6:30 a.m. Saturday.

The pickup for those with a Thursday or Friday garbage route will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24.

Items must be bagged, bundled or in a garbage cart. They can not exceed 4 feet in width or 4 feet in length.

Tires, concrete, brick, hazardous material and furniture can't be accepted.

For more information, call 457-1820, or email janet@cdagarbage.com.