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...