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...

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...

It's crazy - as I scroll through business social media posts I am seeing an uptick of anger in regard to plastics and recycling. Seemingly angry people call out others for irresponsible behavior, false information, and despicable treatment of our environment. Passionate comments, varying degrees of first-hand knowledge, and lots of blaming and pointing. This public platform seems to be what people need to vent or blame.   I struggle. Should I celebrate that people are taking notice? It seems like the wrong kind of notice, not necessarily productive or positive but attention nonetheless. I wholeheartedly agree that we have some problems when it comes to "stuff" I see these as the three most significant issues:  1. Litter is a big problem.  2. Items being landfilled are a big problem. 3. 100% recyclable (and in demand) items being littered or landfilled is a HUGE problem.  What solutions do we have?  Litter is a big problem . An unpopular but pretty basic iss...

I've posted many times before about the "real issue" with recycling. Spoiler alert - it has a whole lot more to do with who is doing it than the items in need of it. We're presently feeling pretty deflated - we'd love some real suggestions on how to fix this. Let me give you a little back story: Right around the time COVID was at its peak, recycling markets were also doing pretty terribly. Due to health and safety as well as overall costs, a large number of public recycling programs were being cut or closed entirely. Recycling is what we do so we wanted to try and step in and provide a solution for residents who no longer had recycling access. We decided to ramp up our residential collection bins onsite and provide this service free of charge. We purchased some bins and to ensure that we were setting things up for success we invested in clearly worded labels to avoid recycling confusion - we had signs made and posted them . Our bins received an overwhelming rec...

You come home from work and in place of the organized and mess-free home, you left this morning, you enter chaos. Even an amateur hunter could follow the trail across the entire first level and lead to the bedrooms of the accused. Step by step, sock by sock and paper by paper anger rises as you walk. You are about to blow. With so many examples of wrong behavior, how can you open the door and celebrate the homework that is currently being worked on?  It may be a leap, but in my mind, this is the current state of recycling.  We read articles, watch news stories, and see blips on our social media. Recycling is going in the wrong direction and the pollution and destruction of our environment are at an all-time high, or is it? Sometimes when you are so close, you cannot even make out the big picture, you are not getting an accurate view, it's just all blurry and messy.  Recycling by nature is messy (both figuratively and literally). When you are dealing with "trash" you don...

In order for goals to be kept and exceeded people need to be motivated. Some people have an easier time getting and staying motivated all by themselves, others need periodic stroking, some need consistent prodding, while others may need to be pulled.  Knowing what motivates people to start as well as how to keep them going can help to shape your message and improve your impact. This would go for something as common as New Year health goals, organization practices, quitting smoking, eating healthier, or improving the recycling and waste reduction in a household, or business. We are very biased but we feel that recycling is pretty essential. We do also feel that following the first two R's first is necessary (1. Reduce & 2. Reuse). We want to be sure that as an organization we are helping to motivate residents and businesses alike to continue to improve their recycling impact.  So, please help us out.  Tell us what motivates you to recycle with care & reduce waste?...

As an insider looking at the state of recycling and all the pitches at trying to "fix it" I am left scratching my head. Sure, there is plenty that can still be done to tweak and improve recycling. There is absolutely no negative impact of a stronger focus on a complete environmental approach as companies push towards a circular economy and true product recyclability. Those are all wonderful things.  A recycling bin which is clearly labeled "No Bags and No Metal other than alum/tin cans" in the bin you'll see MANY bags and a metal charcoal grill (complete with charcoal). Recycling with care?  All those great changes won't do much though unless we focus on the real recycling issue. I just can't help feeling like we are trying to put a band-aid on a toe while we have lost both legs. The real issue with recycling is us. Consumers, residents, the recyclers are doing a terrible job and most just don't care. They say the...

Cape Cod towns decided to take a stance and ban plastic water bottles in their town. You can drink soda, juice, and other beverages in the same plastic bottles but under no circumstance should you consider drinking bottled water, not in their town. The confusing part is that these bottles are 100% recyclable and in demand. There are consumers currently seeking these raw materials. There is no question about their recyclability, the only thing in question is if consumers can be bothered to get them into the recycling bins.  I've found that as I read the news I am confused. This decision by the towns of Cape Cod is one of those times. I agree wholeheartedly that there are many necessary steps to be taken to increase the positive impact of recycling. This very random and illogical approach is what absolutely baffles me. If you want to ban something look into items that really have inconsistent or no end markets. Styrofoam for example - have at it, ban away. Plastic sandwich/snack bags...

Things are finally looking up in the recycling industry. It has been a long and difficult journey that unfortunately many didn't survive. Positive changes are underway; end-users are now seeking material that collection centers and materials recovery facilities were recently begging & paying to move. Another positive step is that more and more companies are making commitments to increase the recycled content in their products and aiming towards the goal of a truly circular economy. This is amazing news that benefits not only the recycling industry but our environment as a whole.  With all the positive trends there does remain one consistent issue. End-users will require quality material in order to make quality products. The number one issue that directly contributed to the crumbling of the recycling industry remains the number one issue with recycling; contamination. Outreach, education, and investments by so many have helped to make the information more available and easier t...

Funny but true. Our bins are begging for a quality control person ... "Recycle Man". Are you willing to fill the position? What could you do to police your bins without hovering over them? 1. Start with correct and complete labeling. Clearly label what the bin is intended for. Next, clearly explain what should NOT be placed in the bin, make it guess free. 2. Be sure that you have both garbage and recycling bins in all locations. Often people try to do the right thing by limiting where they place garbage bins (or recycling bins), ultimately forcing people to recycle or avoid contamination in the recycling.  The issue with this is that it causes a lot of contamination or failure to recycle. People who care about recycling will do the right thing but those people would also be likely to seek out a recycling bin. People who wouldn't have made the effort to find the recycling bin will throw contaminants in the wrong bin unphased. Although we feel the placement of b...

Recycling markets are in a very tough spot right now. While some individuals and businesses may not know most have felt the strain or have at least heard the buzz. The bulk of the issues have been an issue for a really long time it's just gotten a lot worse. It's kind of like when your child tries to go on a hunger strike and will only eat dessert. You can let it go and hope for it to pass, with the likelihood of it spreading to your other children, or you can put an end to it (or at least put a plan in place to slowly put an end to it). In the recycling industry we need a plan. My plan starts with education by explaining what I believe the real issues are. 1. Contamination is real and the absolute HUGEST issue. Some recycling rules can be extremely confusing; items that are accepted, preferred, and completely fine in one program can cause big issues for another. Other times (lots of times) there are items that are clearly NOT recyclable that are carelessly placed in th...

"Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without loss in quality or purity - something few food and beverage packaging options can claim." By the Glass Packaging Institute.  Glass is an amazing material that can be recycled (and recycled, and recycled, and recycled....) glass can also be reused BUT... it currently poses many, many challenges to MRF's (material recovery facilities). Glass has been a problem for quite some time now but with the increase in single stream collection it's become an even larger hurdle. The good news is that it seems that the recycling of glass has increased but the bad news is that, at this point, in the form that it's often received in, it is not unilaterally able to be recycled. We need help and here's why:  1. Glass is breakable. As glass is placed in bins, transported, dumped at drop center(s), and processed the whole bottle tends to become many, many pieces. The pieces get mixed with...

If you pay attention to the news I am sure that you have heard about the concerns associated with the current recycling markets. Company officials and representatives from a number of the large, nationally owned, waste management corporations have gone on the record stating that times are tough and profits are thin. If you are like me you may not have heard many of these interviews (they just don't play that type of news on Disney channel). I have a vested interest (as we all do) in the state of recycling markets so in this case I've actually made it a point to pay attention. There are lots of discussions of how the recycling markets got into the troubling state that they are presently in and although there is no single reason there is one huge contributor. I've always hated the "I told you so" types so I'm going to tread lightly... okay, I may still sort of allude to "I told you so". If you scroll back in our historical posts you'll find us sh...

Unlike the month before a majority of the bins are full, some are even overflowing, switching to a single stream recycling program appears to be a success but wait, hold the presses. Single stream recycling has proven to be more enticing to most participants. It seems easier, less to know and less to do; who isn't about easier these days? The unfortunate result is a harder job at the recycling facility because despite higher participation there is also higher amounts of contamination. Our sorters who previously handled paper separation have transitioned into the mixed materials. Yes, garbage always happened occasionally (even when it was strictly paper) but not on the scale that the single stream collection has provided. Not only is sorting the mixed items not the most sought after job but it is also costly for the materials recovery facility who pays per ton for the material to be unloaded only to pay a higher per ton rate to have the waste/contaminants hauled away. As a ...

Working for a company that deals daily with recycling and trying to keep our planet healthy gives true meaning to the comment that for us everyday is Earth Day. Our ultimate goal each day is to optimize recycling and reduce waste, which ends up in a landfill or worse dumped or littered. We get so excited for Earth Day because that seems to provide a spotlight on an issue that we feel should be a priority every day. Many times a common misconception for individuals and businesses alike is that Recycling and environmentally prefered options cost more money. We have taken pride in disproving this myth, many times recycling can save you money or can even become a source of profit (if the quantities are sufficient and handling methods are efficient). We can tell you how and provide free evaluations anyday, you don't need to wait for Earth Day! For so many Earth Day is a "fun" day that lets them attend a few fun events and maybe get some free stuff but what does Eart...

So I know that I've mentioned it before but I'm not perfect. I try.. but at times I fail. I've done some things in our home to help encourage recycling and limit our garbage as much as possible. I've set goals for our family (of four) to have one bag of garbage per week. To some that still seems excessive and maybe others it seems impossible (I'm hoping for that because then I look good.. wink, wink). Sometimes we meet that goal and I proudly strut my stuff as I drop my one (in my mind) itty bitty bag of garbage at the drop off center. I also like to pretend to struggle with my many recycling bags (just to show how much our house recycles). It's great that we try to limit our waste but even based on one bag per week from every household we make A LOT of garbage. Many times for me things as a big picture can become a bit overwhelming and situations can seem impossible to correct. I think for my mind it's easiest if I break down big problems into smaller iss...

New Year resolutions often leave us reflecting and making new goals (ie: lose 15 pounds, save more, spend less). Real execution of our resolutions often takes self discipline and dedication and some resolutions are a lot easier to keep then others.All of your personal goals (for family & future) will mean nothing without a healthy, thriving planet (we only have one). Now is the time to make a few (start small) commitments to living a greener, healthier lifestyle. I have a few suggestions of where to start or maybe a few areas to branch into if you have already started (yay you). 1. Say so long to the disposable lifestyle. If you use it once and throw it away .. try eliminating it from your day to day routine. Items like paper towels, plastic snack and sandwich bags,plastic shopping bags, toilet paper (a joke,unfortunately at this time I have no suggestions for eliminating TP). If you are certain that you will recycle the items and you know that where you take recyclables is a...