Are you a wistful recycler? Have you ever wondered if a certain
material was recyclable, and not knowing for sure, put it in the recycling bin
anyway? Lesser of two evils, right?
Actually, no. Your
hopeful gesture is creating a big contamination
problem for recycling processors. And it’s sending volumes of materials to the
landfill that otherwise would have been recycled.
This year at local Earth Day events, the Nebraska Recycling
Council offered a Recycling Challenge. A
bag of 13 materials was given to intrepid recyclers to test their
knowledge. Two disposal options were
presented: one for landfill and one for
recycling. (Organics were not included
in the interest of simplicity.) Admittedly,
there were some “trick” items, such as the Pepsi bottle containing a little bit
of soda, and the pizza box with grease spots. Most people placed a high percentage
of their materials in the correct bin; however, our little Challenge confirmed
what we already know: virtually all of
us are confused about what can be recycled and/or how materials should be
handled (i.e. rinsed, flattened, emptied, etc.) before recycling.
Recycling is not as simple as it once was. For one thing,
product packaging has changed. Plastics
and mixed materials dominate. Many of these materials are not recyclable, and
if they can be, the recycling company that services your home or business may
not accept them. There is no universal
guarantee of recyclability just because there is a recycling symbol on the
packaging.
The automation of recycling processing centers has also
complicated matters. Materials moved quickly through a system of conveyors and sensors. Flattened cans can be “read” as paper.
Plastic bags jam equipment. Glass shards contaminate paper fibers, making them
useless as feedstock for new items. Having said that, these high-tech processing
centers and their companions, “single stream” collection bins, have allowed far
more materials to be recycled by orders of magnitude, and it is a business
model that won’t go away anytime soon.
So, let’s all step up our game on recycling.
From a grassroots perspective, there is a lot we can do. We
can re-learn recycling practices and conform to the new reality. We can reject goods packaged in materials that
have no place to go except the landfill. We can inform political leaders of the
need for packaging standards, and demand new rules that divert more materials
from our taxpayer-funded landfills.
These actions don’t all rest on the shoulders of product
users, however; and they shouldn’t. New standards are needed up and down the value
chain. Manufacturers need to keep the
end in mind when they design packaging. Retailers should be compelled to
“take-back” products and packaging for reuse and recycling. Haulers and
processors need to take more responsibility for educating customers by
providing ongoing, consistent messaging on what and how to recycle. Haulers
should be licensed under strict standards to ensure resources meant for the
recycling center are being taken there instead of the landfill.
Uniformity in signage and bin configuration is needed in
public spaces and businesses so that recycling can become second nature to all
of us. There is no excuse for a stand-alone trash bin without a recycling
companion by its side. Color standards
are important. Use blue for recycling,
black for landfill and green for organics. Container labels should be
consistent, with photographic imagery showing exactly what materials belong in
each bin. These simple design changes
are proven to increase recycling and reduce contamination.
Now, let’s move ahead and get on with it. Let me reiterate: let
us remember to activate our voices for change, and rededicate ourselves to
reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle, and re-soil (compost) repeatedly!
No more being wistful, no more being stuck, no more excuses.
__________
