Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Recycling Having Problems

Interesting story in the Washington Post on the current state of recycling efforts. Recycling companies across the country are having a tough time of it. We've heard tidbits about this in our local news although I don't think anywhere as comprehensive as the Post story. They're all losing money:

" Once a profitable business for cities and private employers alike, recycling in recent years has become a money-sucking enterprise. The District, Baltimore and many counties in between are contributing millions annually to prop up one of the nation’s busiest facilities here in Elkridge, Md. — but it is still losing money. In fact, almost every facility like it in the country is running in the red.".

I've wrote before about enjoying recycling for some time. I'm also aware of the more hysterical aspects of it, especially forced recycling which resulted in the glut of recycling materials we face today. That results in much lower demand for recycling materials. 

Some of my earlier observations are validated in the story. For instance, the non- recyclable items I've noticed being thrown into the bins. It's not just Humboldt:

"By pushing to increase recycling rates with bigger and bigger bins — while demanding almost no sorting by consumers — the recycling stream has become increasingly polluted and less valuable, imperiling the economics of the whole system."

I've always wondered why the local collectors- City Garbage and the rest- don't make some effort to educate people as to what should, and shouldn't, be placed in the bin. The only thing I can recall since garbage and recycling became mandatory in Eureka was one mailer sent out at the beginning. Since then, nothing, and I'm sure things have changed.

This might be a good story for the local papers or TV news. Start out with the problem, then a talk or story about what should or shouldn't be thrown in the recycle bin. The silence from the recyclers seems deafening to me.  I would think all they'd have to do is put out a press release or call for a press conference and local media would come running.

I'll take slight issue with one aspect of the story. They wrote:

"Dwindling have been the once-profitable old newspapers,".

Yep. Newspapers used to be profitable. They imply their decline being more recent. I could be wrong but I thought it's been decades since newspapers were a hot item. I recall living in Tustin, CA in the '60s and youth groups would come by the house to collect newspapers for fundraising. 

It wasn't too much later- probably a bit after I moved up here in the '70s- I saw some news thing on TV about a glut of used newspaper. They showed warehouses of pallets stacked high with newspaper. The guy being interviewed said recycling makes people feel good, but they couldn't find enough uses for the paper. I wonder if, or how, that's changed?

I wonder if government efforts to encourage recycling haven't made things worse? For the most part it worked fine before they tried making it mandatory, although we might well have ended up with the same problems as more and more people took part in it. 

Maybe that old saying about if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it should have been applied to recycling years ago?
 *****
As an aside, one of my more recent sightings of trash in recycling bins: I won't say where, except for an alley near Eureka High School. I notice a string of lamps, the kind used either for yard lighting, or maybe to string up for a party, filling an entire bin. 

You're not supposed to do that.  Why anyone would think that's ok is beyond me.

2 Comments:

At 1:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Recycling is just one R in the waste recovery system. The other two are Reuse and Reduce. Maybe if people would not consume so much we would not have the glut of recyclables. An interesting book on this subject is "No Impact Man" by Colin Beavan.

 
At 1:18 PM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

" Maybe if people would not consume so much we would not have the glut of recyclables"

Then, eventually, no one would have a job.

 

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