Are you/we really recycling?

[two fingers]

So, everything I'm about to post is anecdotal. I'll grant that right out of the gate.

NONE of what I'm posting is political. And please don't take it there!

I was hanging out at my father-in-law's store this past weekend. A guy came in to get a snack. As soon as he walked in my father-in-law said "Hey man. Tell him (pointing to me) what you told me the other day."

Turns out this guy is a "sanitation engineer" (or whatever the least offensive term for a garbage collector is these days).

He told me a long story, the gist is which is as follows.

Every day when their garbage truck gets full, they go to the landfill to dump it. They have to get in line with other trucks. In their area, the recycling trucks are in the same line with the garbage trucks..... and they dump their loads into the SAME PILE AS THE GARBAGE.

The "recycling" isn't going to any processing plant where the divide it up and actually send it to places that will do something with the stuff we're cleaning, peeling labels off of, and collecting for weeks at a time.

He also said that he "has it on good authority" that it's happening all over the country in pockets. He said he "knew for sure" that the Raleigh/Durham/Cary/Chapel Hill area of NC was doing the same thing. (His words, not mine. I have no idea.)

I'm posting here to see if any of you k ow anyone who works in your area sanitation departments. I would he curious to know how many people THINK they are recycling when they're not. Out here in the burbs, we have to use a private garbage collection company ("sanitation engineering firm"?). I plan to call them and ask point blank. We actually pay extra for a separate wheeled bin to collect the stuff in. They only pick up recycling every other week in my neighborhood. Seems we're all signed up for the service (which is voluntary) because the streets are lined with recycling bins on recycling day (which is different from trash day).

Have any of you heard this in your area? If it's true, is there any way (other than repurposing) to ACTUALLY recycle stuff?

I'm no tree hugger. But I think it's silly to throw away anything that can be kept out of landfills. I even compost with a neighbor who grows a vegetable garden. Throwing away food scraps is even more of a waste to me. If it's just going to rot anyway, that rot should be used for something. I would rather throw an apple core into the woods than into a garbage can. At least there, it returns to the ecosystem.

I'm happy to discuss ways to be a better earth buddy in another thread. But I would really like to stick to the subject at hand here.

Are you sure your recycling is actually being recycled? If it isn't, is there anywhere to take recycling that it actually would be recycled? What would you do if you found out your "recycling" was being dumped into the same pile as your garbage?

Again, NO POLITICS PLEASE. IT'S NOT JIST A RULE HERE AT TB, BUT IT KEEPS THINGS CIVIL. And there's simply no good reason to drag it in here. Thanks.

 

[mexicant]

I heard the same thing! Seems China no longer wants our cardboard, plastic etc...

 

[ONYX]

Other than re-using re-usable items, we don't recycle. My wife and I would, but the city we live in charges a usage fee for an "approved" re-cycling container. Anything to squeeze an extra nickle out of the turnip.....

Bottles and cans go back to the store (deposit law) and plastic grocery bags also go back to collection bins at the store. But other than that, not much.

 

[Richland123]

In the township where I live and all of the surrounding cities and towns in the county, recycling is mandatory. Plus, many places also have the recycling bins. I know we have recycling centers in this area. The trucks in my township collect glass, plastics, metals, etc. of all types. They don't collect paper, newspapers, magazines, or cardboard or plastic bags. Those have to go to the bins.

I don't know if all the trucks go to the proper recycling center or not.

 

[Mushroo]

China's "National Sword Policy" was big news about a year ago.

I think consumer recycling is kind of a scam, corporations trying to push the blame onto individuals.

The food and medicine I need to survive, comes from the factory packaged in 11 layers of non-biodegradable plastic. But if I dispose of it in the wrong bin, then *I'm* the jerk?

Hope that's not too political.

 

[MJ5150]

I know two guys who drive garbage trucks. One works for the city of Seattle, one works for a private company that is huge in the area. I wondered about this too, so I asked a couple years ago.
Both of them told me the garbage goes to a transfer station then off to a sorting facility for recycling.
The transfer station near me has separate spots for garbage and recycling. I figure not all transfer stations have that, so it may all just go into one pile to be sorted elsewhere.
The garbage companies can't trust people to only put the right items in the right cans, so they have to sort it to make sure not only that it is the right kind of material, but that it is also suitable for recycling.
The city of Seattle is in the midst of an educational campaign right now teaching people how to properly clean and dispose of recycling. For example, when someone throws an empty peanut butter jar into the plastic recycling bin, it is not recyclable since it is too dirty. So it goes back into the regular garbage.

-Mike

 

[friskinator]

I never knew until recently that recycling is largely a for-profit industry. When I was living in Atlanta, the local recycling centers stopped accepting glass because they couldn't make a profit off its processing anymore. I hated throwing it in the garbage, but we were explicitly told our recycling company didn't want it. Oh well.

Are the recycling companies we use actually processing what we give them? Without following the trucks to their destinations, who knows? But I hope so.

 

[JKos]

It's all about money and there's just no money in recycling, unfortunately.

- John

 

[sharkbait130]

Again , anecdotal but I get the same story here in Hagerstown. They did try to raise my trash rates when the recycling pick up started. Seahag called them up and was going to cancel the service. Amazing.......they kept us on the same rate. Whodathunkit?

 

[hbarcat]

In the early 90's I worked directly with the Solid Waste and Recycling Center (SWARC) in my local community of about 5,000 people. While I can't speak for others, I do know for certain that every effort was made in that facility to remove recyclable material from garbage before it was laid in the landfill and that the recycleables were meticulously sorted, packaged, and then sent to various destinations for appropriate reuse.

A private company was contracted by the community to collect from every residence and commercial property. I was a part time driver and we were trained to recognize if what we were picking up was properly sorted. We could tell pretty easily who was sorting their trash and who didn't care. The worst offenders were charged extra every week as long as they refused to properly recycle. The vast majority were pretty good about it.

When our trucks arrived at the SWARC, we had to wait there while the material was unloaded into the proper areas.

Waste:
- solid
- restaurant grease
- contaminated paper
- yard waste
- other

Recyclables:
- aluminum
- steel
- other metal
- plastic (6 different kinds)
- glass (green, brown, clear, opaque)

Paper:
- corrugated cardboard
- newspaper
- other paper

Miscellaneous.




If the material brought to the center wasn't sorted well enough, the waste collection company was fined per load.


I don't live there anymore but I'm still acquainted with the SWARC manager. He is a civil engineer and he has an advanced college degree. They continue to take recycling very seriously.

 

[filmtex]

I heard the same thing! Seems China no longer wants our cardboard, plastic etc...

Big article in the Wall Street Journal
Help, We’re Drowning in Recycling! Cue the ‘Internet of Trash’

 

[CallMeAl]

I was waiting in the airport (cant remember where) sitting by a recycling/garbage combo bin. An employee came by and pulled both bags and tossed em in a cart. I was bored enough to ask, if they were going to the same place. He just shrugged and made a face, implying that they were.

The city of Seattle is in the midst of an educational campaign right now teaching people how to properly clean and dispose of recycling.

Did you read that article, something like "Seattle is too good at recycling?" Covered some points, including the dirty containers, things (that dont belong) like plastic bags jamming the sorting machines, and what they coined (I think it was) "hopeful recycling"- where people dont really know if its recyclable but toss it in anyway in Hopes it will get recycled.

 

[Downunderwonder]

I heard the same thing! Seems China no longer wants our cardboard, plastic etc...

They were burning it and decided cleaner air was a better thing. Now everyone who was sending it to China has a big problem. NZ included.

 

[catcauphonic]

I know two guys who drive garbage trucks. One works for the city of Seattle, one works for a private company that is huge in the area. I wondered about this too, so I asked a couple years ago.
Both of them told me the garbage goes to a transfer station then off to a sorting facility for recycling.
The transfer station near me has separate spots for garbage and recycling. I figure not all transfer stations have that, so it may all just go into one pile to be sorted elsewhere.
The garbage companies can't trust people to only put the right items in the right cans, so they have to sort it to make sure not only that it is the right kind of material, but that it is also suitable for recycling.
The city of Seattle is in the midst of an educational campaign right now teaching people how to properly clean and dispose of recycling. For example, when someone throws an empty peanut butter jar into the plastic recycling bin, it is not recyclable since it is too dirty. So it goes back into the regular garbage.

-Mike

Spot on here in Seattle. We're required to keep 3 bins- recycle, compost, and garbage. There are multiple large transfer stations in and outside of city limits that you can take various loads to and they seem pretty meticulous about keeping everything seperated.

I wouldn't think those places could strictly rely on the public to put things where they belong properly without a few people constantly watching a conveyor or something behind the scenes.

Are you saying that your recyclable piles are being buried right next to your garbage? Hopefully they go on to their next life before all that does get a proper burial.

 

[catcauphonic]

I heard the same thing! Seems China no longer wants our cardboard, plastic etc...

They were burning it and decided cleaner air was a better thing. Now everyone who was sending it to China has a big problem. NZ included.

Lots of docs out there on YouTube about the (illegal) exporting of all kinds of hazardous or non haz waste being shipped to 3rd world countries, where countless people make a hardscrabble living repurposing it.

 

[Downunderwonder]

ots of docs out there on YouTube about the (illegal) exporting of all kinds of hazardous or non haz waste being shipped to 3rd world countries, where countless people make a hardscrabble living repurposing it.

I was only thinking of the legal trade to China which I expect was the end of line for municipal contractors.

Burning off wiring to gather the copper is a 3rd world hardscrabble speciality.

 

[hbarcat]

Where I live now, we put out our landfill waste on one day and all of our recyclables on a different day.

The waste company is different from the recyclables company and they use obviously different trucks.

This arrangement is mandated by our village and we're billed for the service as a local utility.

There are several landfills in the area and the closest one is at the edge of city limits and less than 3 miles from my house. On days when the wind is blowing strongly from east to west we can just get a whiff of it. I drive past it nearly every day and you can see the garbage trucks coning and going. For what it's worth, I've never seen a recycling truck there.

Also, the landfill captures the methane gas generated by decomposing waste and sells it for energy production.

 

[BakerStreetMuse]

what they coined (I think it was) "hopeful recycling"- where people dont really know if its recyclable but toss it in anyway in Hopes it will get recycled.

This is me. I can never keep track of what Number in the Triangle is acceptable in my area so I toss it in and hope for the best. I do make sure everything is clean.

I'm pretty sure my area is actually recycling things and not fake recycling. Thanks for this thread; I'll have to investigate. Really trying to make an effort on the Reduce part of "Reduce-Reuse-Recycle" though.

 

[MattZilla]

It differs by locale. I've got Home nearby, and the trucks have multiple sections into which they sort whatever we put into our blue bins.

 

[dwm74]

It's all about money and there's just no money in recycling, unfortunately.

- John

I've heard that ever since they issued those blue recycle bins/cans/toters. It's a money-losing venture by the time it has to be sorted, stored, re-made into whatever, etc. And adding to that process is getting rid of all the non-recyclable stuff that gets tossed in the recycle bins. Too much work and too little reward.