Insiders Glimpse

CRI Single Stream Operations.

Here are some shots of our single stream system chuggin' away. The material is pouring in and the recycling process has begun.




Single stream might seem like an easier recycling solution but just like when you were sorting it yourself, please keep out garbage! Nearly all items that were labeled trash in the past continue to be. While getting some quick shots to post here I saw a some obvious garbage that needed to be sorted out. As a general rule the following items are always considered non recyclable during standard curbside collection or drop off (really, they were out there)

Mattresses (although I've heard they can be recycled it has to be a special collection item and if mixed in with the recycled will be trashed)
Diapers (clean or especially dirty)
Food Waste (Again, we compost but it cannot be mixed in with your recycling it just makes garbage)
Doggie & Kitty "Bi-products" (I know that no one wants to hang on to the foul smelling baggie for long but prior to chucking please ensure that it's a garbage bin and not a recycling bin..you wouldn't want to be the poor soul who is on the sorting line pulling out trash.)

Those were some of the big offenders but there is plenty of items that get thrown in the bin merely because its closer than the garbage. Please remember the goal of recycling is collect and ensure that every possible item is reused. Mixing garbage in with the recyclables only increases contamination and can negatively effect the ability to reprocess items that were previously highly recyclable.

Why do I always feel the need to say that we haven't flip flopped on this topic? If you're familiar with past blog posts, we stand behind the idea that dual stream separated material continues to have less residual (trash downgrades) then comparable single stream sources. Maintaining the highest recyclability and product quality is a recyclers goal.  Market demand has required single stream collection and processing, we continue our goal of optimizing the recycled content and reducing waste however possible.

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