Early
in 2017, daughter Hallie wrote to say she was motivated to decrease her carbon
footprint and suggested a blog discussion on recycling. I endeavored to step up
to the challenge, but truth be told, I’m a skeptical recycler. Yup – I’m one of
those who believes that in my community, if not every community, those items I
zealously separate from garbage and save into the recycling bins eventually find
their way to the transfer station.
As
it happened, last year the voluntary recycling program in our community was
curtailed. While continuing to accept paper and cardboard, they no longer
accept plastics or cans. Well, where does that leave the consumer who is
convinced that recycling is essential? Mike and I continue to collect our
plastic containers and cans in the garage, sloppy though it is, and then carry
them to recycling in the neighboring community when we’re heading that way.
But
just looking down that chute where all recyclable items are dumped, I see a
jumbled mess, and I just can’t believe that transfer station workers are going
to spend hours separating the good from the bad. It looks like garbage, and
perhaps more telling, it smells like garbage.
Well,
last month I happened to hear a program on NPR where the guest was saying that
China has served notice that it will no longer take our recyclables, claiming
they aren’t clean and that it’s mixed with garbage. According to the speaker,
both Portland and Seattle have lifted bans on accepting plastics at their
transfer stations because we literally have no option but to stop shipping our
“recyclables” to China. I’m wondering how this will impact the citizens of
Seattle, where recycling has been mandatory. Perhaps someone will tell us.
A
local feature article, “Recycling Wreck,” in the Lewiston Tribune of
July 15, 2018, addresses recycling issues. Recycling programs are still in
place in our community, and it appears they will continue in some form, as
domestic markets are sought. A big part of the problem is the consumer himself,
who fails to adequately separate garbage and recyclables.
It’s
a huge problem, and it seems to me we, as citizens of the world, have done
little to address it at its source – manufacturing. We’re over-using plastics
in packaging, and it’s harmful to our environment in more ways than one – and
sometimes tragically so. Well, I’m no expert. I just do what I can, sometimes
kicking and screaming as those plastic containers and cans mount up in my
garage.
I
continue to carry my reusable bags when I shop. And for overall garbage
reduction, I also compost kitchen scraps, brown paper, garden waste, etc. What
else can I do? KW
4 comments:
I'm probably repeating my comments from our last recycling conversation, but I will agree with your comments from the LMT. Dan often returns from our recycling center and talks about how people just seem to indiscriminately dump into containers that are WELL MARKED as to what goes in them. And in this community, I don't believe the offenders can't read! Lazy? We can't figure it out. The town recently went to "single-stream" recycling meaning that all a household's recycling goes into one large container which was supplied to each address by the sanitation department. Like you, I wonder who is going to sort? We live in the county, so Dan takes our recycling directly to the center. Where he notes those transgressors. :-(
"Single stream" recycling seems to encourage sloppiness. Or, they aren't sure it's recyclable, so they toss it in the bin regardless. But yes, I did expect your community to be more enlightened in this regard. In the end, though -- enlightened or ignorant -- I'm not sure it's going to matter.
In our community, we are charged for the privilege of recycling, whether we use it or not. We have a blue can that is picked up every other Monday. They take plastic, paper, cardboard, but no cans or glass. Our recycling volume is about one can per every other pickup. Don't know how it gets handled on the other end. I think one answer is to develop a recycling industry here, rather than ship it out of the country. I guess it's all about money.
It's so strange how different communities deal with the issue of recycling. I understand that recycling is mandatory in Seattle, and they are fined if they don't recycle. So -- that means that officials are checking your garbage, which some feel is an invasion of privacy. Here, it's totally voluntary, and I think they would be just as happy if we didn't.
Regardless, I believe before too long we will see changes. I think we do have to develop recycling industries in our own country, but I just don't know if it will happen.
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