Enough With the Trash Talk: Here's What No One Told You About Recycling

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There is nothing I used to hate more than approaching a trash can and seeing a recycling bin next to it. I'd usually stop before the two bins and look at the trash in my hands. Is this recyclable? Two weeks ago it was a styrofoam cup I had been drinking coffee out of. I knew styrofoam wasn't biodegradable so I threw it in the recycling bin.

There are two problems with what I did. 

I was drinking hot coffee out of a styrofoam cup. Apparently, when heated, styrofoam can leach chemicals. So unless you're looking to season your coffee with trace amounts of cancer causing chemicals, I'd advise you steer away from this product. Which leads me to the next mistake I made. 

I tried to recycle styrofoam. To be clear styrofoam, is a trademark for a specific type of "extruded polystyrene foam" or EPS. I had assumed that because polystyrene isn't biodegradable that it should be recycled.  The only problem with that is that polystyrene is not accepted by most recycling centers. In fact, there are a lot of things that can't be recycled. 

According to Claire Groden of Fortune,

"Waste Management says that contamination of its recycling stream has doubled in the past decade." 

She cites a National Waste and Recycling Association survey, which found 1 in 10 Americans threw trash in recycling bins when waste bins were full, suggesting this is a large part of the problem. 

Another is education. Many Americans, such as myself, were never taught how to recycle. 

So What is Recyclable? 

Not only are the following items recyclable, but if you opt out of a single-stream recycling system (see below), you could make some petty cash. Because each material has a different market value, these recycling centers will have different rates for what they will pay you. My center, for example will pay anywhere from $.10 to $5 a pound, depending on the material. 

Paper

• paper bags
• cardboard (boxes, juice/milk cartons)
• magazines
• newspaper
• misc. paper (mail, file folders)
• paper egg cartons

Metal

• clean aluminum (cans, pie tins, foil)
• loose jar lids/steel bottle caps
• aerosol cans (no caps)

Plastic

• bottles
• tubs
• jugs
• jars

Glass

• bottles
• jars

What isn't Recyclable? 

A very important-- yet often overlooked --part of recycling is making sure your recyclables are clean. Greasy pizza boxes and remnants of soda or juice can contaminate and diminish the quality of the end product. 

It's also important to distinguish between an object's recyclability and its place in a single-stream recycling system. Some of the items below are recyclable, but they need to be taken to specific facilities for processing. 

• food contaminated paper
• styrofoam/polystyrene
• plastic bags
• diapers/pet waste
• hazardous waste (paint, car batteries, etc.)
• shredded paper
• flattened cans
• non-recyclable glass (mirrors, china, ceramics)

What is Single-Stream Recycling? 

Single-stream recycling is what most Americans are used to. Although it might sound fancy, it simply refers to the process of putting all of your recyclables in a single bin.  Many Americans also use a curb-side service. 

As large waste companies, such as Waste Management (WM), are finding out, Single-Stream recycling can be costly and ineffective. 

Why is it Failing? 

Single-stream recycling waste made the mainstream practice by WM. The idea was that if recycling was simplified enough, more Americans would be willing to participate. This turned out to be a good assumption. 

In an age were only 10% of the country's trash was being recycled, single-stream recycling brought us up to 34% in 2010. 

However, the thoughtless single-stream recycling system has resulted in 1 in 6 items being non-recyclable. This slows processing and can damage the machines, both which drive up costs.  While this process does have a higher yield,  according to the Container Recycling Institute President, Susan Collins, "Single-stream is not the system that leads to the highest quality of recyclables."

It's clear there needs to be some innovation and change when it comes to the way America recycles. 

What Can We Do? 

Education is the best thing you can do. Talk to your friends, your family. 

Japan has done a wonderful thing, in teaching their children responsibility. From school-age children are expected to clean their school. As you can see in the video below, they are also taught to recycle. 



Milk carton recycling for school lunch in Japan from Atsuko Quirk on Vimeo.


 Some factories have to shut down hourly to clear layers of plastic bags that have jammed their machines. We must investigate making recycling more efficient and productive. I think a good first step is learning to clean and sort our recyclables. 


I also think its important to be informed about what other nations are doing about their trash. Different people can offer different perspectives and potentially better solutions to our problems. 

Take Sweden, for example, a nation that has gotten so good at waste to energy incineration that they have run out of trash. That's right, Sweden imports trash from the UK and several other European countries to keep their incinerators running. 

Still Feeling Lost?

My local recycler is Tokay Recycling. I happened to be in the area one day and decided to swing by. I went in and told them that I have never been taught how to recycle, I don't have a clue as to what I'm dong and I'd appreciate it if they could help me out. The manager was helpful and answered all of my questions. He even told me that if I came by with all of my recyclables, someone would show me how to separate them.  

If you're still feeling lost and want someone to walk you through how to recycle, look up your local recycling center and visit their office.  People really appreciate honesty. In my experience, if you're polite and explain that you're looking to learn people will be quite patient.