How to Cut Down on “Wishful Recycling”

Everyone knows that recycling is an easy way to help keep the planet clean. When in doubt, many people will just drop an item in the recycling bin rather than the trash can. However, even those who have the best of intentions with recycling can actually be contributing to more garbage to piling up in landfills.

People like this have been termed “wishful recyclers,” who unfortunately do more harm than good with their recycling habits. Wishful recycling is when an item is tossed in the recycling bin in hopes that it is recyclable. However, these items could “contaminate” other recycling items and cause them to end up in the landfill instead of being recycled. Contaminated recyclables are any items outside the specifically targeted items for a recycling collection (such as cardboard ending up in a plastics collection).

Contaminated recyclables can cause many issues when they enter the recycling stream, including slowing down manual sorting processes, potentially breaking recycling machinery, and even degrading the quality and market price of recyclable materials. Because the recycling industry is driven by profits and bottom lines, not saving the earth, contaminated items being mixed in with recyclable items would cause an increase in sorting time and a decrease in output quality, thus affecting profits. It is easier and less expensive to dump the whole lot than take the time to sort it. Unfortunately, partly due to wishful recyclers who contaminate the recycling stream, recycling costs in the United States are increasing and recycling rates are decreasing.

There is a catch-22 with this issue. Contamination rates increase in areas with single-stream recycling, where sorting is not required because all recyclables are placed in same bin. However, recycling participation rates are higher in these areas because the process is much more convenient for participants. Contamination arises in this situation because people recycle everything, thinking that it will end up being recycled if it is placed in a recycling bin. While convenient for those who want to recycle, this convenience is actually causing more recyclable goods to end up being contaminated and dumped in the landfill.

What Can Be Recycled?

Part of the problem goes beyond wishful recyclers. The list of items that can be recycled is constantly changing because of market price fluctuations and technological advancements. In addition, location can impact what can and cannot be recycled. In some areas, budgetary constraints or city priorities could cause items that are recyclable in one city to not be accepted in another city. Thus, the responsibility of knowing what is or is not recyclable falls on the consumer.

As a general rule of thumb, plastic soda bottles and aluminum cans can be recycled. Pizza boxes or other containers soiled with greasy food residue cannot be recycled. Plastic bags cannot be placed in recycling bins, but many grocery stores are now accepting them. Milk juice cartons can also be recycled, but toss the plastic lid first.

If you want to avoid being a ‘wishful recycler,’ take the time to learn what items can and cannot be recycled, then try to change your consumption and disposal habits to reduce your carbon footprint.

The Impact of Midterm Elections on the Waste and Recycling Industry

Some changes are being made in Washington following the recent midterm elections. Namely, the Democrats recaptured control of the House of Representatives, while the Republicans strengthened control of the Senate. This switch of control in the House means that there will be changes in committee chairmanships, including the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. Both members of the House Recycling Caucus and the new House Food Waste Caucus won re-election, so there will be no changes there.

Overall, the midterm elections should not have any immediate impact on the waste and recycling industry. Billy Johnson, chief lobbyist at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industry Inc. (ISRI) said, “Any time [a flip] happens, it doesn’t impact us as much. We are bipartisan and play both sides of the aisle…In the grand scheme of things, we’re friends with both parties and we keep it that way.”

Though the election does not have any immediate impact, it could have long-term impact on the waste and recycling industry. When opposing parties control Congress, there is often stagnation in legislative action. Lobbyists like Johnson hope that this will not be the case, and that bipartisan support for infrastructure reform can be garnered that would lead to growth in the industry. One area where this could occur is improvement in transportation. According to Johnson, “Transportation is a big issue for all industries—the recycling industry is not alone in this. We need better rail service since we ship a lot of materials. We need better roads and bridges. We need more truck drivers. We need better ports. Because we have to bring product into our yards and get it out...transportation is key to us.” Bipartisan support of large-scale transportation projects could lead to many new opportunities in the sector, such as the opportunity to recycle hard-to-recycle items into new materials to aid with infrastructure projects. For example, used tires could be transformed into rubberized asphalt and recycled plastic could be transformed into industrial parts, such as plumbing components.

While bipartisanship may be difficult for those in Congress, both parties will certainly have support from the waste and recycling industry. According to Stephen Sandherr, CEO of Associated General Contractors of American (AGC), “We are eager to work with the new Congress to ensure its members focus on enacting measures that will further contribute to economic growth. Our top priority will be helping both parties come together to enact the kind of significant new infrastructure measures the president has long promised. This is an issue that leaders in both parties have expressed support for and we expect them to make infrastructure a top priority early in the new year.”

Along with offering support, many industry leaders hope to build relationships with newly elected officials in the hopes of raising awareness of issues, like workforce shortages and trade issues with China. It is no secret that there is a big need for workers in the industry. Sandherr backs this up, stating, “We will work with the next Congress to double, over the next five years, federal investments in career and technical education. Our economy is producing too many underemployed college graduates and too few people with the skills needed to pursue high-paying construction careers.” Johnson also weighed in, saying that those in the recycling industry need to take time to communicate what they want to their state legislators and councilors. It is important to remember that there is no Republican garbage or Democratic garbage. Everyone has garbage and everyone should be striving to make the industry work better, for those working in it, the people it serves, and the environment.