Recycle for the Win
____
Sustainable Southern Gables is a neighborhood organization dedicated to environmental stewardship, resource conservation, and fostering a resilient neighborhood for future generations. It embraces eco-friendly practices, supports local sustainability initiatives, and encourages collaboration among residents to create a greener, healthier, and more connected living space. Sustainable Southern Gables thrives on a shared commitment to a better tomorrow. The group recently sponsored a tour of Waste Management’s Denver Material Recycling Facility. What they learned was eye-opening.
By Stormy McDonald and Christine Laursen
Are you a recycler? Or do you want to begin to recycle? We hope so. Taking just a few moments to separate your trash and put recyclable items into your recycling bin can make a big difference. According to The Recycling Partnership’s State of Recycling Report, 8 out of 10 items that could be recycled end up in the trash. That overall figure includes not just the good recyclables we throw away ourselves, but a lot of what we send to recycling – because it’s contaminated, wet, bagged, otherwise unsuitable or even just that it can’t be efficiently separated.
L-R: Stormy McDonald, Jan Rogers, Marjie Montrose, Christine Laursen, Bruce Loftis, DeAnn Joyce, Robert Young.
Seeing huge piles of recyclable items move quickly into an underground room and onto an impressive 2 ½ mile track through various specialized sorting processes was impressive. With quick and precise movements, workers snatched items off that fast-moving line that were not recyclable or needed special handling. Loose plastic bags, recyclables in plastic bags, and wet cardboard or paper interfere with the recycling process. These need to be removed and sent to a landfill, which adds to the cost of recycling.`
Down one of the moving routes, aluminum cans magically flew past the first drop into a second drop, propelled by a system of magnets. Next, we saw huge bundles of aluminum cans flattened and compressed. Aluminum cans are their most profitable item. Milk plastic containers are also separated from other colored plastic containers by the coding being read on the line. The plastic of these milk gallon jugs is currently their second most valuable item. Flattened plastics compressed and banded in similarly large bundles to the aluminum cans are stacked together in very tall piles. We saw the clear milk container bundles, colored plastic bundles with laundry detergent and similar bottles, and bundles of plastic water bottle material. Plastic water bottles are the least valuable item, yet there are more of these than anything else. What can we individually do to make a difference? Use a reusable water bottle and stop buying so many one-time use bottles.
In single-stream recycling such as Waste Management’s system, broken glass reduces the value of other items if mixed in, but they manage to separate out as much as possible. We were advised that if we have a party and have several glass containers, it would be best for us to take them to a site that has glass separation. We can recycle glass at the1068 Quail Street Recycling Center, where glass is one of the category containers. Glass is less valuable than aluminum cans or milk jugs, but it can be put to good use.
The items that are recyclable can vary from one provider to the next. It all depends on the set up they have where the items are recycled. It was suggested that we learn about the recycling capabilities of the service provider we use, and make sure our household members know about recyclable items.
At Waste Management’s Material Recycling facility tour, we learned that some recycled items were contaminated and, therefore, not recyclable. This may even lead to perfectly good recyclables being discarded and sent to the landfill. We can help reduce the contamination of recyclables. For example, recycle only the part of your pizza box that has no grease or food on it – if in doubt, throw it out! You can use a small amount of water to rinse out your containers so no food waste remains, but there is no need to scrub items clean. All items must be dry to be recycled – no wet paper or cardboard. Plastic bags foul the equipment. These might be recycled at the grocery store or check out Plastic Film Recycling in the resource list below.
By keeping your recycler’s information handy – post a list on your fridge – you can check items before tossing them in your recycling bin. This prevents contamination and items that might need different handling. For example, Waste Management processes these plastics: 1, 2, 4, and 5. All other plastics they receive must be picked out and shipped to the landfill.
Taking a few small steps can make a difference. We all appreciate those who regularly recycle, and we hope to inform and encourage those who are just starting. Taking a few minutes to learn and apply a few simple steps is what it takes to contribute to a big win for our environment.
Here are some links to learn more:
- Recycling Guide for Lakewood’s Quail Site
- Accepted Plastics for Lakewood’s Quail Site
- Additional Recycling Resources provided by Lakewood’s Quail Site
- Plastic Film Recycling
- Recycling 101 – What Is Recycling & What to Recycle | WM
- Electronics recycling at these local organizations:
Photos provided by Bruce Loftis.
To join Sustainable Southern Gables, contact Robert Young ryoung512@earthlink.net.
Subscribe to get an email notice when our weekly articles are published.
