Things I Find In The Garbage At Work

Photo Credit: Flicker/Canadian Veggie

I’ve been told that Seattle has always been fairly progressive on the recycling front, compared to other cities in the US.  And lately, recycling is picking up even more steam.  Everywhere you turn, recycling and compost bins are popping up where they never have before.  It’s a great thing, but are people really disposing of things properly in these new receptacles?  Judging by what I regularly fish out of the garbage and recycling at my office, I guess no.  Now, I am not out looking for violations, but several times a week I notice something in the wrong bin and quietly move it to the correct one.  Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about:

Disposable coffee cup lids – these are only recyclable if they are over 3” in diameter.  Also, you should rinse off as much coffee residue as possible, just as you would with other recyclables.  The paper cup can also be recycled after rinsing.

Paper towel rolls – I find these in the garbage all the time.  These should be recycled as they are made of paper or cardboard, both of which are completely recyclable.

The paper that wraps the ream of paper – if you fill the copy machine or printer in your office, you know that the paper comes in a wrapper and this wrapper is made of paper, which is 100% recyclable. 

Plastic bottles with lids – Everyone should know that plastic water bottles are recyclable.  But, not everyone knows that the lid is not.  Here’s a little lesson on what happens in the recycling facility.  Your recycling gets dumped on a conveyor belt at the recycling facility to get sorted.  Somebody stands there and sorts out the recycling and pulls the garbage.  Plastics get crushed and melted down for another use.  If your plastic water bottle has a lid on it, the worker may or may not see this and it is a problem both ways.  If he does see it, he will likely pull the whole bottle with lid for the garbage pile to avoid a potential problem.  If he doesn’t catch it and the bottle and lid goes through the conveyor system, the pressure from the crushing can cause the lid to pop off at a dangerous speed and hurt the staff.  You don’t want that on your conscious.  If you put the loose lid in the recycling, you can cause the conveyor and equipment to jam, costing the recycler time and money to fix. 

You may be asking, if the lid isn’t recyclable, then what happens to the thin plastic ring around the neck that stays on the bottle? No one ever takes that off when they put the bottle in the recycling, right?  I asked someone at King County Solid Waste about this and they say that this small amount of non-recyclable plastic just gets melted in with the other plastic and it is fine.  But rather than worrying about what components of the plastic bottle are recyclable, instead try not to buy plastic water or soda bottles and you won’t have to worry about it.

Take out containers – The new take out containers that are made of cardboard, that are more environmentally friendly, are not recyclable.  In fact, many aren’t even compostable.  There is only a certain brand that is legal to go in your yard and food waste bin.  Many of these new containers are supposed to go in the garbage.  Now the plastic containers, those can be rinsed and recycled.

The bottom line is, you ruin the system if you cross contaminate your refuse.  This is why it is important to get it right.  If you aren’t sure, find out.  Call your waste disposal company or look online for your local guidelines.  Seattle Public Utilities has a great online tool for checking what to do with specific items, check out Ask Evelyn for details.  Or, appoint an unofficial recycling steward for your office.  This person can be the go-to resource for recycling questions.  (And the random watchdog of the garbage can.)  What do you notice about your business’ recycling system?  Need ideas for a specific problem?  Leave a comment here or email me at Melissa@ecohomeconsults.com.  I’d love to help you come up with a solution!