Workers sort through recyclable items on a conveyor belt at Republic Services recycling center at 333 W. Gowan Road in North Las Vegas. Photos by K.M. Cannon. HOME SORTING: Darren Copeland uses a kitchen cabinet to hold his recycling bins until his semimonthly pickup day. DELIVERY: A recycling truck dumps plastic at Republic Services recycling center at 333 W. Gowan Road in North Las Vegas. RECYCLING CENTER: Workers sort recyclable items on a conveyor belt at Republic Services recycling center. TRANSPORT: Bob Coyle, area president of Republic Services, shows bundles of plastics waiting for transport to other centers.>

Darren Copeland is conscientious about sorting his trash, faithfully pulling his red, white and blue bins out to the curb every two weeks to await pickup by an equally patriotic-colored recycling truck.

He has been doing it for the past seven years. But he's not entirely convinced it does any good.

"It's worth it, I think, if it kind of makes you feel good to think you're doing the right thing," he says. "But I have questions."

He's not alone, says Bob Coyle, area president of Republic Services.

Southern Nevadans aren't big believers when it comes to recycling. Of the 792,066 tons of residential waste collected during 2005, only 2 percent of it was recycled, according to Republic statistics.

The Nevada Legislature set a state goal of 25 percent, Coyle said. In comparison, California state law requires that 50 percent of waste be recycled.

Coyle, who came from California and took over the top Republic spot 18 months ago, says it's difficult to pinpoint a single reason for the low numbers. But one may be that people don't believe the sorted paper, plastic and aluminum is actually being recycled.

"Recycling is something that could be improved upon significantly," Coyle says during a tour of the Gowan Road recycling facility. "One of the big questions we get is, 'Do you really recycle, or do you put it all in the landfill?' The first time I heard that question, I was shocked."

Technically, Republic Services, Southern Nevada's residential trash collectors and recycling company, doesn't recycle. Rather, the company collects, sorts, then transfers recyclables to recycling centers across the west, Coyle explains.

But what they do is an important, first step in the process of reducing, reusing and recycling natural resources, he adds.

All of the 50 trucks in Republic's recycling fleet run six days a week. They start out early mornings making pickups, then take their loads into the transfer station about 2 p.m. daily. There, the contents are dumped, then sorted on a conveyor belt. Each material -- paper, plastic and metal -- eventually ends up in a perfectly shaped cube that is placed on trucks and transported to the appropriate recycling facility, Coyle says.

"We wouldn't be putting these trucks on the street if we weren't recycling," Coyle says.

Despite his devotion to regular recycling, Copeland says he can't be sure that his carefully sorted trash isn't ending up in a landfill.

"I wonder if I'm doing it right and I wonder what happens to what gets recycled. Is there a big pile of paper somewhere?" he asks. "I wonder about whether it's getting recycled, as well. What's happening to it? They haven't shown me that it is, and maybe if they did it would ease my skepticism. Just show me whether what I'm doing is making a difference and how it's making a difference. "

The program started in 1992 and was popular for a while, says Tara Pike-Nordstrom, the solid waste and recycling manager for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"There was a definite interest. It's a Nevada state statute that any city over a certain size should have curbside recycling," she says.

A rate increase was put into effect at that time to pay for the program, Pike-Nordstrom says. The service can't be opted out of but the rate is so low, many probably don't even realize it's on their bill, she adds.

"We have the lowest garbage rates in the country. It's good economically but it's a disincentive to recycle," Pike-Nordstrom says. "Cities who have high garbage fees tend to have landfill problems, so they recycle."

That fact and the lack of public education about recycling and the program contributes to lower numbers of residents recycling, Pike-Nordstrom suggests.

When Republic pulled recycling bins and Dumpsters from apartments and other multifamily dwellings in 2004, that deterred some from recycling. People were using them for regular trash, Coyle says, which caused problems during pickups and sorting.

Copeland says that sorting his garbage takes extra time but for him, it's worth it.

"It's hard to keep people focused on recycling because it is inconvenient," Coyle says.

One way to address that is to do away with multiple recycle bins and use a single one, like California does.

"We're having discussions with the county and cities. Ultimately, it's up to the public officials," Coyle says. "I think there's a lot of improvements to be made in the curbside program, I'm glad that it's offered. I hope more people will use it, but I think there needs to be more education about it."

The company is promoting recycling better than before, Pike-Nordstrom says. Recently, residents received a schedule of pickup days and times with their bills, she notes.