Recycle 2 Save

I was in the materials recovery facility trying to get some action shots as the single-stream material was being processed. It's always helpful to have visuals as you present to help everyone understand the journey of your recyclables. As I walked to the loading spot, I passed overflowing barrels—they caught my attention because they wouldn't look great in the video I was trying to capture.  I paused in the feed area, waiting for a large 100-yarder to empty the community's single stream so I could follow through the entire process. As I waited, the line stopped once, twice, and again. I turned to see why it kept stopping, and the team was expeditiously working together to scoop a shrub, including branches, leaves, and dirt, off the line.  At that moment, I decided that covering the "ugly" things I didn't initially want to capture in my video was more important than showing the process itself.  The overflowing barrels were empty at the start of the shift and em...

We are a company born from the goal and desire to recycle every item possible. We are not a waste company that also handles recyclables. During dual-stream collection days, we had four glass bins and sorted the glass by color. The mixed color bin (made up of the materials that broke during sorting and transit) was difficult to consistently move or find a "home" for but the other bins were generally manageable. This method of handling the glass was more manually intensive and harder on the equipment directly processing the containers but the paper was collected separately and the process and material remained free of glass contamination.  Fast forward to single stream collection, all material being collected in one vehicle, compacted and dumped on our tipping floor. Most of the glass arrives broken from transport and has completely infiltrated every inch of the load. On especially wet and snowy days the glass has become "glitter" on clumps of waded paper. (Imagine de...

Hi! And thanks for being the recycler for our residential trash service. I was looking at your blog and found it useful. I wonder if you could address a topic in the blog, and/or send me a personal reply. It is said that about 10% of what we put in our home recycle bin gets recycled. The rest goes overseas, into landfills, etc. Can you comment on this? I realize some of the reason for this is that people contaminate their recycling, rendering the whole load unusable, but what other reasons are there that cause such a small percentage of our recycling to not get recycled? Thanks in advance. Thanks for reading, asking, and for your concern in general. When the 10% number is thrown around it sure is concerning. This number, from what I've read when we researched a bit more in-depth, is based upon 10% of ALL materials produced in the US being recycled. That is still terrible, but not reflective of only 10% of the material placed in your recycling bin. Unfortun...

We recently shared our thoughts on what is wrong or "going on" with recycling. I admit it was out of sheer frustration, but 100% true. We paused accepting material direct from residents at our facility due to the overwhelming amount of garbage received and litter that was occurring despite repeated warnings and postings.  We were absolutely shocked at the response we received. Some were angry and frustrated (at us) and other residents explained how frustrated they'd become seeing the bins they used littered with items they knew didn't belong. We even had one resident explain that they had themselves cleaned up material that was thrown outside the bins, despite having room inside.  Although we have expressed such frustration with people who refuse to cooperate and follow instructions we have also spoken and interacted with so many who go above and beyond. Our goal is and has always been, to increase not only the recycling efforts but the positive recycling impact of ou...