As we have shown throughout this book, there is no magic formula for success in a recycling program. Each community must balance its recycling goals against available resources (time, money, and manpower), the cost and availability of alternative solid waste reduction and disposal systems, and institutional obstacles. We believe that the case studies discussed in the pages which follow illustrate creative programs whose decision makers had to balance these factors against the light of political reality. These represent just a sample of the many excellent programs which are currently in operation on a day-to-day basis.