A refresher on what to recycle
So, allow me to bring you the most recent news from the recycling world. My boss, Marcie Smith and I just “attended’ a webinar hosted by SWANA (Solid Waste Association of North America), Waste Management and the city of Fort Worth, Texas, titled “Beyond China: Building the Future of Recycling.”
About a year ago, China announced new restrictions on imported recyclables, but they had forewarned us four years earlier with their “Green Fence” initiative to inspect our recyclables for contamination. Unfortunately, we did not take that warning seriously, and continued to send them contaminated loads.
The China Sword has indeed been lowered; the 0.5 percent contamination acceptance is real. The west coast is stockpiling materials worthy of salvaging. Other piles may be landfilled if they cannot be saved. We were a little more insulated here on the east coast, as we have a few processors right here: Sonoco Recycling (mostly paper products, like newspaper, mixed paper and cardboard) Unifi-Repreve (plastic bottles), Strategic Materials (glass bottles), metal recyclers for aluminum and steel. However, we who recycle must be even more diligent in the sorting and choosing of our recyclables.
It’s the little things that will contaminate a load of recyclables. When we make the decision to place something in the recycle container, understanding why and how these things are good candidates for reuse will insure that you are making the right decision.
1. Mixed paper is no longer a catch-all for anything that appears to be paper. Magazines, junk mail, paperboard boxes are good choices. Skip any paper that has a liner, metallic or plastic, cash register receipts (usually thermal paper), paper towels, or any paper that has food contamination or personal waste (tissues). You would be surprised that we have found soiled baby diapers in our containers. If in doubt, throw it out.
2. Cardboard, a really good recyclable material, especially now with so many of us ordering online, has great potential as more cardboard, especially when handled by Sonoco Recycling. Cardboard boxes are only worthwhile if they are free of contaminants. No extra packaging plastics, bubble wraps, Styrofoam packaging, plastic straps -- just the cardboard, please. Any materials that are considered “tanglers” (plastic bags, electronic cords, plastic strapping, string, clothing, hoses, etc.) will get snarled in the conveyor belts that are part of the sorting system. When the belts stop moving, the sorting process stops, wasting time and money. Flattening your cardboard before placing into your containers also saves space. If there is food waste associated with your cardboard, it is useless. If in doubt, throw it out.
3. Clean plastics: The best of plastic are #1 and #2 plastic bottles and jugs. A more challenging plastic are the #3, 4, 5, 7. Unifi-Repreve is doing a great job and need more feed stock. The other #1 items like clam shell boxes are hard to recycle, as each one needs to be handled, because not all clamshells are #1’s…more labor intense, so many times, they are just sorted for trash. Many bottles (shampoos) are #5…so handlers will toss them, and even if you look before you recycle, the companies may not. Please rinse all bottles before recycling. If in doubt, throw it out.
4. Glass bottles and jars: the most important quality of these items is that they should be also rinsed clean, free of any food contaminant and only bottles and jars. No mirrors, dishes, ceramics, plate glass windows should be recycled. Labels are not a problem, but if you want to remove them, it’s OK. We can recycle clear, green, blue and brown bottles. They travel to Wilson, NC to be remanufactured into a variety of things.
5. Aluminum and steel cans: Metals are almost the perfect materials for recycling; clean, free of food, and yes, recycle all day long.
We are facing some changes in this world. The webinar suggest that we may be looking at new opportunities for the USA to keep all of our recyclable materials, and we can reduce our dependency on China to buy our stuff. Let’s make it here in our country!
Nan Kirlin is recycling coordinator for Gaston County. Her column runs on Sundays.