HANCOCK — When the Hancock City Council approved a contract with Waste Management in 2016, it included trash and recycling collection, and according to Glenn Anderson the collection of recyclable materials as increased significantly.

Anderson, who is Hancock city manager, said since the collection of recyclables by Waste Management began on Sept. 12, the curbside recycling participation rate by residents was about  20 percent.

“We were averaging 8 tons of recyclables a month,” he said.

Now, the participation rate is about 50 percent, Anderson said, with about 24 tons of recycling collected each month.

Waste Management collects recyclables on Monday for the east side of the city, and on Wednesday for the west side.

As part of the contract with Waste Management, Anderson said downtown businesses can participate in curbside collection, with about 30 percent taking part. They can put out small pieces of cardboard, but larger pieces have to be brought to the city Department of Public Works garage.

For residents who live in apartment buildings which don’t participate in recycling collection, and those who do curbside recycling but maybe missed a day, Anderson said they can still bring their recycling to the DPW garage at 1601 Tomasi Drive where there is a dumpster for collection.

“There are people coming (to the DPW garage),” he said.

Anderson said he’s been pleased with the participation rate for recycling since Waste Management took over.

“It’s exceeded our expectations for participation,” he said.