Residents regularly approach our Mayor and City Manager concerning the absence of a curbside recycling program. It’s such a simple, uncomplicated baby step towards sustainability. Put your plastic, paper, glass, and metal trash items in a separate bin. That’s it! Why wouldn’t we do that?
Apparently it’s not that simple. Several years ago, curbside recycling was offered as part of our local trash service. Due to the continuous high percentage of contamination, the material recycling facility stopped accepting our materials. How embarrassing is it when the trash company refuses to take your trash?
So what exactly can be placed in a typical curbside recycle bin? Thank you for asking!
Cardboard and paperboard boxes, metal cans (soup, soda, etc.), glass bottles and jars, paper, newspaper, catalogs, magazines, and plastic bottles (milk jugs, water bottles, etc.). All boxes should be flattened. Metal lids from bottles and jars can be placed loosely in the bin while plastic lids from plastic bottles should be replaced on the uncrushed bottles. And it’s very important to remember that these items must all be empty, clean, and dry. Yes, you are being asked to wash your trash.
Some items that are recyclable cannot be placed in a curbside bin, but must be taken to specific locations. This would include batteries, chains, electronics, light bulbs, plastic bags, shoes and clothing, shredded paper, Styrofoam, and copper wire, to name a few. (See our list of landfill aversion partners under the resource tab for locations.)
Some items that you may feel are recyclable are actually not, including ceramics, clam shells (like berries are sold in), construction materials (wood, metal, sheet-rock, etc.), drinking glasses, facial tissue and paper napkins, anything with food residue, paper coffee cups and water cones, garden hoses, hazardous material and their containers, most gift wrap and gift bags, propane tanks, window pane glass, and wire and plastic coat hangers, to name a few.
Is this starting to sound less simple and more complicated? And we haven’t even touched on the economics and politics of recyclables yet. We’ll leave that headache for another day. You’re welcome!
So what is an environmentally responsible person to do? First of all, don’t get discouraged. Eventually, we will have a recycle program again. And we will be sure to educate everyone on what can and cannot be accepted. But instead of trying to maneuver the roads of recycling, what if we just reduced the amount of waste we create in the first place? What if we reuse those glass jars instead of tossing them? What if we don’t print unnecessary copies of emails for our files? What if we bought a reusable water bottle? There are countless simple changes we could make to our everyday routine to reduce waste. Just pick one and take that first baby step.