The movement toward "zero waste" and higher recycling targets is alive and well in many cities around the country, despite recent commodity market uncertainties. In fact, five of them expanded their curbside lists as others are cutting back.

So far, the feeling among some in the industry has been that it's best to pause any changes and focus on education until the full effects of China's import policies are known. In a few cases, mainly on the West Coast, service providers have actually begun reducing the materials they will accept. Others say that market fluctuations are normal and the recycling progress must continue.

Expansion and contraction of recycling lists isn't uncommon, but changes are never made lightly. Adding materials to a recycling program means finding new end markets and developing clear communication campaigns for residents and businesses. Likewise, just because items are dropped from a program doesn't mean that the message will get through immediately. Any alteration to recycling habits can take time and may bring contamination complications in the short-term.

Here is how five local governments announced their own expansions this fall.

San Francisco

San Francisco Department of the Environment

Added: P aper coffee cups, ice cream containers, milk or juice cartons, aseptic containers, plastic bags and textiles (both separately bagged)

San Francisco has been one of the earliest and most ambitious adopters of new recycling programs in an effort to reach its goal of "zero waste" by 2020. The city's Department of the Environment had been discussing a recycling expansion for multiple years and this became possible after service provider Recology completed a $11.6 million upgrade of its Recycle Central MRF in 2016.

Peter Gallotta, public relations and information coordinator with the agency, said the list announced in October included every possible new item based on thorough consultation with Recology. That announcement was paired with plans for smaller refuse carts to curb San Francisco's waste generation rates.

The only notable category the city wanted to include, but couldn't due to lack of end markets, was the polyester film commonly referred to by the brand name Mylar. "If brand owners and manufacturers made their products recyclable or compostable and provided the market pull to incorporate recycled content, we would be able to shift more materials into our recycling and composting programs," wrote Gallotta in an email.

San Francisco residents and businesses will be seeing a range of educational messaging over a multi-year period, and contamination is a priority. The agency deferred to Recology about whether this was a greater concern in light of China's newly proposed 0.3% residue specifications.

David Hudson, Recology's director of sales and marketing, said the company did careful calculations about the available markets and potential contamination issues.

"Recology is known by and large as having some of the best materials in the country," said Hudson. "We're not having to adjust to the same degree that others are."

Hudson said that a talented team of commodity experts, and a diversity of markets, is "key to our success." Though he recognized that the 0.3% specification, if enforced, will require more work and could force many people to change the way they operate.

Washington, D.C.

DC DPW Director Christopher Shorter Foodservice Packaging Institute

Added: P izza boxes; paper and plastic plates, cups, lids and take-out containers; plastic produce, deli and bakery containers and trays

In 2014, a local law was passed directing the District of Columbia's Department of Public Works (DPW) to issue a new streamlined residential and commercial recycling list. This was also seen as an opportunity to add new material. A parallel law began requiring food service establishments to only use recyclable or compostable materials as of January 2017.

According to Annie White, manager of DPW's waste diversion office, this research process began in the spring of 2016. The department surveyed eight regional MRFs about their preferences on an estimated 70 materials. The new list was technically published in December 2016, but the city has recently begun promoting its Zero Waste DC initiative this fall ahead of the official January 2018 effective date. Since then, of course, the commodity landscape has changed.

"Obviously, the market was in a little bit different place in 2016 than it is currently, but there is a mechanism in place to make shifts," said White. "This is something that we are, and every municipality is, watching closely."

In terms of market research and educational resources, White credited the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) with playing a lead role. Since 2011, this packaging industry-backed organization had been looking for ways to increase diversion of its members' products. That led to the creation of three offshoot organizations — the Paper Recovery Alliance, Plastics Recycling Group, and the Foam Recycling Coalition — to focus on specialized work and offer grants when necessary. FPI's members also include MRFs and recycling companies, so they factor that perspective into any discussions about program expansions