Recycling Clean-up

I've tried many different things to keep the recycling area under control. When we lived in Mason City we got spoiled with the curbside pick-up. All we had to do was throw everything in the blue tub and put all the paper stuff in a brown paper bag. They took care of sorting it from there. Since we have moved to the southern part of the state we now have to take our stuff the the recycling drop off sites. (it's a good thing that I truly like to recycle!). So began my quest for a good sorting system that is compact and easy to use.
The first thing I tried was some trash cans with lids. That was O.K. until it got too full and the lid was then permanently open. Also, when I put the trash can in the van to transport to the center the cans just never fit right in the trunk space and would shift or spill out (because they were tall and had a narrow base)! It also took up too much floor space because the were not stackable.
Next was those tubs designed to stack on each other with the door flap on the angled front area of the container. They are a great idea because you can stack however many you need and not eat up lots of floor space. The draw back is that you have to unstack everything to take out the container that is full. And when I went to load in the van they just didn't fit right....just a pain!
Yesterday I had an idea for how to work the system to fit my needs and style. I found a square shaped shelf system at WalMart that has 4 tube legs that fit between each layers (3 layers in all). Then I found some tubs (they came with lids) the fit nicely in each space that have a grab handles on the sides. This "center" sits very nicely in the spot right by the garage door and the handle on the tubs makes it easy to pull the tub out (like a drawer). I've got cans, glass, and plastic in the 3 spots right now. Started sorting out the bags of stuff and already took 2 bins worth of recycle to the center. The tubs fit nicely in the van without being tippy.
Now I have to get busy and get the rest of the pile sorted out and off to recycle. I will probably add another shelf set to accomodate the newspaper and the cardboard but for now I have those in something else that is working for the moment. However, it would be nice to have it all in one tower area it doesn't eat up valuable floor area!