Town Council Chairman Mary Ann Lynch had good news to report this month from the Town's Recycling Committee.

Recent numbers show a record Town recycling rate of more than 30 percent in February of this year, which is up from 25 percent in January, and well over the 19 percent rate Cape Elizabeth showed a year ago.

In February, 201.08 tons of solid waste was taken to ecomaine, the region's solid waste facility in Portland, from the hopper at the Recycling Center. At the same time, 87.15 tons of material was transported to ecomaine from the "silver bullet" recycling bins in Cape Elizabeth.

Officials attribute the rise to the single-stream recycling system instituted at ecomaine. Beginning May 1 of last year, ecomaine accepted recyclable paper, plastics, bottles and cans together in one container.

Previously, residents needed to sort recyclables into separate bins.

The new recycling system also accepts more types of plastics for recycling.

"Solid waste is the second largest item in our budget," Lynch said at the April 14 meeting of the Town Council.

The single-sort system has simplified recycling for many, Lynch said. "I myself am probably recycling 60-70 percent without really trying," she said. "It's an area where we can save the town money, without really too much effort."

More information about recycling, including most recent statistics, is available on the recycling pages of this Web site.