Tubs of trash: cans, glass bottles, plastics, paper and more nestled in bins that are stacked in the back of the Jeep with no place to go! Our recycling center has announced that they will no long accept our tub of mixed product that is typical of single stream. Rather, they will concentrate on paper, buying aluminum and other metals that are more profitable. You can still drop off paint, TVs and appliances for a charge.
So no matter how hard you try to keep the environment clean, it always boils down to money. They were not making enough on single stream.
This means we will try and take our tubs to the next town, if they will allow us to use their facility. It also means we now have to sort everything which would not be bad if we had only a single tub but we are taking at least three large tubs. If this center won't let us in, we'll have to think of another plan.
We stopped our trash pickup long ago since we recycled about 90% of our trash. We burned paper (kleenex, paper towels, food packaging) in the incinerator which left us to deal with jar lids and light bulbs. Why they make us purchase these special handing light bulbs without recycling areas, I have no clue. They just end up in the trash.
I suppose we will have to talk to the trash man and see about getting service again. This means hauling our trash down to the main road and the empty cans back up the hill that night. If you put plastic bags down there the strays and woodland animals tear it up,
unless you keep any food product out. That is a thought.
So, as well meaning as we have been, we may need to change our approach.
It's a shame.
7 comments:
What with the world on the edge or in recession now, the demand for commodities that new things are made of such as steel, aluminum and even copper has dropped drastically. There just isn't much demand for new material much less recycled and I suspect that many recycling companies will close once government money goes away. It will recover in some form but it would be wiser not to use some of the throw-away materials in the first place.
I wouldn't have pick-up if it wasn't for my wife. I'd compost anything I could (most paper and food items), sell what I could (aluminum cans, scrap metal), Recycle anything that I could find drop-off points for), and put the rest in little Walmart bags and put a couple in the trash at gas stations when I fill up, or trash cans outside of stores.
Well, that is sad! I hope you find somewhere that will do it. We have been recycling for umpteen years and then one day someone told Chuck they don't really recycle this stuff you know. Talk about angry, think of the time and effort not to mention storing the mess! We changed centers and can only hope they truly do recycle. Sorry for ya'll's problem.
We have a tentative plan. The church in Pacific, MO wants aluminum and paper for fundraising, they will recycle it so we'll pack it up and drive there, it is about 10 miles but on our way to and from work. Then we can still burn the paper that we can't recycle (kleenex and food packaging) which leaves us glass and tin cans. We can store up the glass and go to the recycling center (30 miles one way) on occasion, they will take the tin too. I really don't want to drive our trash to a pick up location to have it go to landfill. The jar lids I do cheat on= I give them and lightbulbs to my daughter and she throws them away for me. It's minor.
We have mixed recycling at our condo in the States and a dumpster for garbage, easy peasy. But in Canada we have to sort our recycling and take it to a recycling center since we don't get curb pickup like houses get. It's a bit tricky to sort and haul, but we don't generate a lot of plastic, cans and glass, and like you we burn our paper trash at the cabin. And then we got to the recycling depot when it should have been open and wasn't (no sign or explanation). Then we had to drive around with the stuff in the back of the truck until we could get back to the depot on a second trip. Like you said, they just don't want to make it easy. - Margy
Wow, I ought to be grateful that New York City still collects recyclables and that we don't have to pay to dispose of items. Well, I guess it's covered in our taxes. I'm surprised they will no longer take plastic. Don't they get money from plastic recycling?
It's just a wild guess Manny, but I'll bet that with the cost of oil as low as it is it's probably cheaper to make new plastic than it is to recycle it.
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