Are you a recycling pro?
We recently visited a type of recycling center known as a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) operated by Recology. It was fascinating!
We came away with a renewed energy towards recycling properly as well as a few tips on how each of us can waste less.
Here's what we learned:
Our recycling is called ‘Single Stream’ and requires a ton of work after it’s picked up!
Some of us remember when we had to separate glass, plastic, and paper ourselves before they could be recycled. While separating items kept contamination low, it meant more work for each of us so way fewer people recycled than do today. Cities (like Seattle) responded by letting us put everything unsorted into one bin, drastically improving recycling rates!
Recycling collected through a mixed bin is called single-stream recycling. Piece by piece, different materials are sorted using every tool at our disposal: humans, gravity, magnetism, and computer vision.
The switch to single stream shifted the recycling work from us to large, complicated, expensive facilities. But it doesn't work unless we prepare our recycling right!
Plastic film causes major problems by clogging up the machines.
Plastic film is another name for the thin flimsy plastic that is all around us. Plastic bags (still common despite some cities banning them!), outer wrapping of toilet paper packs, air pillows from Amazon boxes, dry cleaning bags, and the inside of cereal boxes are all included in this category and do not belong loose in curbside recycling bins.
We saw up close the problems caused when people try to recycle loose plastic film. Six people’s primary job is to manually remove thin flimsy plastics from the other recyclables so it doesn’t get caught in the machinery. Despite their best efforts, plastic film still gums up the entire line several times per day stopping the entire process!
The MRF collects 5,500 pounds of this plastic per day (!) and we know Seattle can do better. That’s why plastic film is one of the main categories we feature with Ridwell, so it can be recycled independently and avoid issues at the MRF.
Make sure to clean food out of your recyclables!
Our tour guide said the rule she most wanted us to follow was to make sure paper and plastic was cleaned of any food before it’s placed in recycling. The consequences for not doing this surprised us and definitely caught our attention.
The first quality check a buyer will make after they receive a bale is to smell for mold. If their highly-trained noses find any, the entire shipping container is deemed worthless and is sent back! Not only does this add costs that make recycling less feasible, but it also comes with a massive carbon penalty from the extra shipping.
Wash off that plastic and paper please (and put your pizza boxes in the compost!)
Your stuff goes everywhere around the world to be recycled!
We saw huge bales of recyclables being shipping out of the MRF all over the world. When recycling first got going, it relied on buyers in Asia to complete the recycling process. Recently, that partnership has soured, undermining our entire recycling system across the country.
Fortunately, Seattle recycling has managed to keep many of those partnerships healthy and local! Local buyers ensure recycling survives and we learned about a facility in SoDo that processes glass just a few blocks away. And another in Tacoma that recycles bales of paper for remanufacturing!
Unlike other cities, we won't be cutting recycling any time soon. But to make sure this stays the case, it is important that we sort properly!
Ridwell's three rules of Recycling
Is it made of one material?
To be recyclable, an item has to be made of a single material. Recyclers aren’t equipped to separate materials like paper and plastic glued together. If it’s a combination, then throw it away instead.
Is it clean, dry, and empty?
Make sure anything you recycle is totally clean of food, liquids, and anything else that can mold. And that they are dry!
Is it bigger than 3 inches?
Items smaller than 3 inches won't make it through the sorting process. Either it will be sorted incorrectly or fall through the cracks in the machinery!
Protip: 3 inches is about the size of your index finger. Just in case you don’t carry a ruler everywhere you go :)
