WASTE WATCHERS BLOG

While MRFs seem powerful and reliable, in reality, the American recycling system is incredibly fragile. And for a country that collectively throws away 804,090 tons per day without full knowledge of what is and what isn’t recyclable, we constantly break it.

  The standard compactor truck (aka “garbage truck”) will crush anything at approximately 2,750 psi—enough pressure to pulverize a pickup truck—while its mechanical arms can lift up to 1,000 lbs. Those compactor trucks then deliver our waste and recyclables to materials recovery facilities (MRFs), the centerpiece of the American recycling system. The largest MRFs can process up to 700 tons of material per day or more, with recyclables whizzing past at nearly 20 mph. While all of these specs would make you believe in its strength and reliability, in reality, the American recycling system is incredibly fragile. And for a country that collectively throws away 804,090 tons per day without full knowledge of what is and what isn’t recyclable, we constantly break it. While we’ve recently covered the types of valuable recyclables we tend to throw in the trash during spring cleaning, the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond, this is a case of the opposite. Through contamination and the act of “wishcycling”, we’re tossing nonrecyclable items known for their troublemaking into our recycling bins. Plastic bags, leather belts, and more—we’ll cover the often-recycled (yet nonrecyclable) items that break the system, endanger its workers, and spike your business’s waste bill.

It’s important that your staff and coworkers are educated and up to date on what materials are accepted for recycling. To help make it easier, we’ve identified which materials your office should recycle, and which ones should be tossed.

  When spring finally arrives, all of the things occupying the back of a warehouse, back of a refrigerator, and back of the mind come back into focus. To the untrained eye, it’s junk—material you’ve put off removing or completely forgotten about. And now that you realize it, you know it belongs anywhere but there. While Americans have shown a strong desire to recycle—over 90% support recycling efforts—it’s not usually the first action that comes to mind when clearing out something unwanted. That’s why, outside of loss caused by contamination and operational inefficiencies, our “throwaway culture” is to blame for poor national recycling rates. But know this: Not all junk is trash. Reflexively, during spring cleaning or not, businesses send valuable, reusable materials like paper, cardboard, plastic, and glass to landfill. But if these companies, and the individuals within them, saw the positive impact on their supply chain, their waste bill, and the environment, they might rethink how they tidy up.

When you try to recycle a “disposable” coffee cup, greasy pizza box, or the ink cartridge from your office printer, wistfully expecting them to embody the next new product on the shelf—you’re actually an unknowing participant in the act of wishcycling. And the practice is one of the biggest challenges facing the recycling industry today.

This article was originally published March 2020 and has been updated. Americans are united in the urge to recycle. About 90% of U.S citizens support the practice of recycling, and for 28% of the country, their communities consider it an important civic duty. It’s actionable, too. Amid heightened interest in the environment and enlivened participation in the nation’s sustainability efforts, we’ve been given an avenue to curb our wasteful ways. An estimated 94% of the population has access to forms of recycling like curbside bins, commercial dumpsters, or drop-off centers, which mollifies many of our concerns. For the majority of businesses and individuals, the ends justify the means. The thought is if you do your part—putting an item you hope can be reused or recycled in the bin or dumpster instead of the trash—the collectors will somehow find a way to recycle it.  However, expectations and reality are very far apart. When you try to recycle a “disposable” coffee cup, greasy pizza box, or the ink cartridge from your office printer, wistfully expecting them to embody the next new product on the shelf—you’re actually an unknowing participant in the act of wishcycling. And as you’ll see, you’re not the only one who’s crossing their fingers.

In this blog post, we dive more into the increased plastic pollution problem as a result of the pandemic, additional areas of impact, and how humanity can recognize and take necessary steps to alleviate the PPE problem before it’s too late.

**This article was originally published October 2020 and has been updated. More than 12 months after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, we’re still dependent on those disposable blue “paper” masks. The world uses 129 billion per month, 3 million a minute, or 50,000 every second depending on how you frame it. But what most of the world hasn’t pictured is the convergence of pandemics—because the masks we’ve relied on to dampen transmission aren’t just paper. They’re polypropylene too, the same plastic used for drinking straws and ketchup bottles. As the world grapples with a glut of plastics in its soil, drinking water, and even the tip of Mt. Everest, we’re faced with a new mountain of a problem: trillions of discarded masks with virtually no solution to recycle them. While no one could have predicted a pandemic or its many byproducts, without collective action and innovative thinking, we’ll be fighting personal protective equipment (PPE) long after the novel coronavirus is gone.

On March 18th, the world comes together to celebrate Global Recycling Day, a day dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the importance that recycling plays in preserving our natural resources and securing the future of our planet. In our latest blog post, we're exploring the people, places, and activities that are contributing to a more sustainable planet and embracing the circular economy concept.

  Every year, the people of Planet Earth produce 2.1B metric tons of solid waste. 16% of that is recycled, saving 700M metric tons of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere.  Unfortunately, 46% of that trash, enough to completely fill 368,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, is disposed of unsustainably—meaning landfilled, incinerated, and littered or illegally dumped in the environment.  It’s clear a 16% recycling rate is not enough. We need education, legislation, and action to combat this growing environmental and humanitarian crisis. And Global Recycling Day, celebrated annually on March 18th, is a launchpad for businesses and individuals looking to make an impact.

Trash and recycling services might be an afterthought—as routine as keeping the lights on and water running. But, unless you understand the traditional waste industry’s concept of APIs (annual price increases), and the forces that drive them exponentially higher, your waste bill could double in just five years’ time.

  No company can make significant progress by accepting the adage “it’s always been this way.” And at face value, the statement “that’s just the way it is” is rarely a justified defense. However, even the most forward-thinking businesses can be lulled into complacency by something as mundane as a waste bill. Trash and recycling services might be an afterthought—as routine as keeping the lights on and water running. But, unless you understand the traditional waste industry’s concept of APIs (annual price increases), and the forces that drive them exponentially higher, your waste bill could double in just five years’ time.

All over the country, subterranean garbage heaps called landfills are rising, fueled by the 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) the US produces each year. For many Americans, “out of sight, out of mind” is good enough. But inevitably, major problems will surface. From hazardous waste to running out of space, we may be overwhelmed by the rising cost of landfills this century.

This post was originally posted March 2018 and has updated with recent data and analysis March 2021. What if we told you the biggest cover-up operation in America had to do with where we send trash? All over the country, subterranean garbage heaps called landfills are rising, fueled by the 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) the US produces each year.  According to the EPA, in 2018, almost half of that trash (49.997%) went to landfills around the country. Worse, yearly MSW production has been steadily climbing, year over year since recording first began in the 1960s—and the US has never had a national recycling rate (recovered material + composting) higher than 35%. For many Americans, “out of sight, out of mind” is good enough. But inevitably, major problems will surface. From hazardous waste to running out of space, we may be overwhelmed by the rising cost of landfills this century.

  The biggest myth of the entire U.S. recycling system is that it works like the postal service. For mail, your carrier makes the drop-off at a sorting facility, where orderly conveyor belts and slides filter envelopes and packages, ensuring they find their way to the right destination. For the centerpiece of the American recycling effort, MRFs (or materials recovery facilities), it isn’t so fine-tuned.

  When you accidentally throw something away that’s valuable, why is it that you hesitate to retrieve it? Is it because it’s gross to dig in rotting food and filthy packaging? Or is it because you may believe the very thing itself will already be ruined? This is the challenge of the U.S. recycling stream in a nutshell and what leads to 25% (or more) of our recyclables being lost and landfilled due to contamination—a total that would otherwise garner billions of dollars.