Single-stream recycling is available citywide today, as service is expanded to Northwest Philadelphia, the last section of the city to be phased in.

Philadelphia has long had one of the lowest recycling rates of any big city in the country.

Officials hope single-stream recycling - which lets residents toss all recyclables into a single bin instead of sorting them - will make Philadelphians more likely to recycle. That could eventually save the city real money: Mayor Nutter estimated $17 million in savings a year before he took office.

Today will also be the first time City Hall's own recycling program goes single stream, said Joan Schlotterbeck, Commissioner of Public Property.

While City Hall was been pretty good about recycling paper, cans and bottles that made their way into City Hall paper recycling bins apparently have been just tossed into the garbage. City Council, which does not use the same private recycling contractor used by the rest of City Hall, is also clamping down on recycling scofflaws.