County recycling revenue halved

Last year, Anne Arundel County made $2 million for recycling 46,000 tons of reusable materials.

And this year county officials estimate they will collect 2,000 more tons, but expect to receive only half of last year's revenue.

"Recycling markets experience the same ups and downs of the stock markets," said Linda Currier, Anne Arundel County's solid waste operations administrator. "The decline is global and a lot of recyclables we handle are exported."

In October, the global economy hit the recycling business when the prices of commodities dropped significantly.

"The markets were...