Recycling has changed, and we must, too

posted by Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin

A few years ago, I felt virtuous when I filled my recycling bin but had only one small bag in my trash bin. Sure, I knew the hierarchy is reduce-reuse-recycle, but still, I was pleased by all the waste I was diverting from a landfill.

That was then. This is now:

China, which accepted 700,000 tons of plastic waste from the United States as recently as 2016 (and about 7 million tons worldwide) has all but stopped accepting that material. In 2018, China accepted less than one percent of those figures. The reason: much of the material was contaminated or difficult to recycle. As a result, it wasn’t profitable enough, and much of it ended up being dumped.

After that, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam began accepting more plastic waste, but they lacked the capacity to recycle it and have since restricted imports. This left municipalities to either stockpile recyclables, hoping for a new market to open up, or treat them like trash, either landfilling or incinerating them.

Not much to feel virtuous about there!

So what can you and I do about this?

First, reduce: It’s hard to talk about reducing without being preachy, but the bottom line is fairly simple: You can reduce the volume in both your recycling and trash bins by buying less stuff and seeking out items with less packaging. You can also call companies that send you catalogs and direct mail and request they stop. You can subscribe to publications online instead of getting them on paper. You can avoid disposable containers and straws. You can buy items that are repairable instead of replaceable. Got more ideas? Put them in the comments below.

Second, reuse: You probably already bring your own shopping bags to the store. You can also bring your own jars to the Sugar Beet Co-op to purchase peanut butter, almond butter, oil, detergent and many other household staples. You can bring your own reusable produce bags to the store, wrap sandwiches in reusable beeswax, pack snacks in silicone bags, and shop at thrift and consignment stores. And instead of discarding things you no longer want or need, you can donate them to the Brown Elephant, the ReUse Depot and other local organizations that simultaneously help those in need and divert castoffs from landfills. Share your reuse tips in the comments below, too. (And note that the links above don’t take you to Amazon; support the companies that are supporting our planet by buying directly from them.)

Third, recycle properly: If you put any “contaminants” into your recycling bin, you turn the whole collection into trash. In fact, Oak Park is now cracking down on residents who don’t recycle properly and refusing to empty their bins! So know what you can and can’t recycle, and make sure everything you do put in the recycling bin is clean and dry. Just because an item has a recycling logo on it doesn’t mean it can be recycled if you put it in your bin. Many materials have to go to specialized recycling centers for that purpose.

Here are the general guidelines:  

·      Empty and rinse all jars, cans and bottles. Plastic caps can be included on empty plastic jars and bottles; all other lids should be discarded in the trash.

·      Break down cardboard boxes and remove tape and stickers.

·      Remove plastic “windows” and other plastic from envelopes and magazines.

·      Remove labels from cans.

·      Make sure pizza boxes have no sauce or cheese on them. If they do, some municipalities will allow you to compost them. Otherwise, throw them out.

·      No plastic bags of any kind! This includes grocery bags, which can be returned to most grocery stores.

·      No bubble wrap even if it claims to be recyclable.

·      No automobile fluid containers.

·      No #6 plastic (polystyrene).

·      No Styrofoam.

·      No plastic toys or furniture.

·      No garden hoses, propane tanks, or anything with mixed materials even if it says it is recyclable.

Finally, support environmentally friendly companies and urge the others to get with the program. Let them know that you vote with your dollars and want to purchase items that last and that come with less packaging. Our goal is no longer full recycling bins. It’s less material in all our bins.

Sharon