Recycling: What's happening and what you can do | Metro

Buyers of recyclable materials have changed their standards and that's affecting recycling in Oregon. From what plastics you can recycle to the future of ... 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Similartypesofplasticarebaledtogetherforsaleinrecyclingmarkets. ‹›1 AretheitemsIputinmyrecyclingbinstillgettingrecycled? Yes.NearlyalloftheitemsthatbelonginyourrecyclingbinathomeoratworkinthegreaterPortlandareaaregettingrecycled.Localprocessorshaveadjustedtheirsortingpractices,andarefindingnewmarkets.Butthatcouldbecomemoredifficultasmorestatesandcountrieschasethesamemarkets. Ifrecyclablesdogotoalandfill,itwouldbeonlyasalastresort,forthefewestitemspossible,andfortheshortestamountoftimepossible.Metromustapproverequeststosendmaterialscollectedasrecyclingtoalandfill.  OregonDepartmentofEnvironmentalQualitykeepsalist ofrecyclersaroundthestate thathaverequestedtodisposeofmaterials.Lookforadocumentcalled"DisposalConcurrences"atthebottomofDEQ'swebpageaboutmarketdisruptions. Whyaren’ttheremoreoptionstorecyclethisstufflocallyordomestically? Stayuptodate Subscribeto MetroNews forthelatestonrecyclingmarkets,informationabouthowtorecycle,andstoriesandvideosabouthowtherecyclingsystemworks. You canalsofollowMetroon Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Questionsaboutwhatyoucanrecycle?AskMetro.Findinformation online ortalktoafriendly expertat503-234-3000. TheU.S.manufacturesfewerproductsthanitusedto,sotherehasbeenmuchlowerdemanddomesticallyfortherecyclablesthatserveastherawmaterialsforproductsandpackaging.Infact,manufacturinghaslongbeenaglobalsystem,andmanyoftheproductsthatOregoniansandAmericansbuyareproducedabroad.Asinternationalmanufacturinghasgrown,internationalmarketsfortherecyclablematerialsusedtomakeproductsandpackagingbecameacost-effectivewaytoensurerecycling. It'salsobeenacost-effectivewaytorecycle.ManufacturersinChinaandsomeothercountrieshavebeenwillingandabletopaymorefortherecyclablesthanAmericanmanufacturers.Andit’sbeeneasyandcheaptosendrecyclingabroadonemptyshipsheadedbacktoChinaandothercountriesafterthey’veunloadedgoodsalongtheWestCoast. Whathappensifwecan’tfindenoughmarketstosellourrecycling? Rightnow,Metroisworkingwitharangeofgovernmentsandbusinessesthatplayaroleintherecyclingsystem–thisincludescitiesandcounties,OregonDepartmentofEnvironmentalQuality,processorsofrecyclables,andindustryexperts.Together,thisgroupisworkingtodeterminewhatadjustmentsmaybeneededtokeepourrecyclingprogramsstrongandresilientoverthelongterm. Whichrecyclableswecollectandhowwecollectthem.Forexample,insteadofcreatingloadsofmixedplasticandloadsofmixedpaper,wecoulddomoresortingintothedifferenttypesofplasticsandpaper.TherearemoremarketsintheU.S.,Canadaandoverseasforthesesortedrecyclablesthanforthemixes.Wemayalsohavetostopcollectingsomeitemsiftherearenomarketsforthematerialsthey’remadeof.They’relookingat: Howwesorttherecyclableswecollect.Sortingtechnologieshavechangedsincethefirstmassrecyclingstarteddecadesago,andsohavetheitemsthatgointhebin–thereismoreplasticandlesspaperinthemix.Investinginupdatestothewayswesortitems locallycouldhelpusproducemorerecyclablesformanufacturersinOregon,thePacificNorthwestandtheU.S.Forexample,Metro’s InvestmentandInnovationgrantprogramcanhelpfundprivate-sectorprojectsthatwillpreventwasteandstrengthenourrecyclinginfrastructure. Therolemanufacturersplayintheprocessofproductionanddisposal.Therearemodelsoutthere,suchasOregon’sBottleBill,OregonE-Waste,andPaintCare,whichallhelpstewardthedisposalofcertainmaterials.Inaddition,manufacturerscouldplayaroleinmakingsureproductsandpackaginghavetheleastimpactontheenvironmentpossible–notjustwhenthey’rethrownaway,butthroughouttheirlives,fromproductiontodisposal. Arethecoststorecyclegoingtogoup? Knowwhatgoesinthebin-and whatdoesn't It'simportanttokeep itemsoutofrecyclingbins thatdon’tbelongthere –thingslikeplasticbagsandplasticto-gocontainers. Thestuffyouputinyourrecyclingcontainers is sortedatalocalfacility,andsimilaritems,suchasallthepaper,oralltheplastic,areseparatedandbaledforsale.Althoughtherecyclingissorted,bothwithmachineryandwithhumanhands,itemsgetmissed.Andwhenthoseitemsaremixedwithrecyclableitems,theymakethematerialshardertosell.Recyclablesthatcan'tbesoldcan'tberecycled. In2018,recyclingratesforhomesandbusinesseswentuptocovertheincreaseincostsforextrasortingandtheuseofnewmarketstosellrecyclablematerials. Thoserateincreasesresultedfromoneofthebiggestspikesinrecyclingcostswe’veeverseen. Customersmayhavenoticedtheseincreasesmorethanusualbecauselocalgarbageandrecyclingrateshavestayedfairlyflatovertimerelativetoinflationandotherincreasesinthecostofliving. Overtime,rate-payersmayhavetopaymoretorecyclethantheydorightnowasthesystemadjuststoevolvingmarketconditions. Relatednews Recyclingchallengesprovetoughtosortout RecyclingchallengesprovetoughtosortoutReadmore 7thingstokeepoutofyourrecyclingbin 7thingstokeepoutofyourrecyclingbinReadmore Plastic:Whattokeepoutofyourhomerecycling Plastic:WhattokeepoutofyourhomerecyclingReadmore Paper:Whattokeepoutofyourhomerecycling Paper:WhattokeepoutofyourhomerecyclingReadmore Returntothefirstitem Morenews Backtotop Moreanswerstocommonquestions Moreanswerstocommonquestionsaboutrecycling Dochangesintherecyclingsystemaffectmygarbagebill? Yes,yourbillisaffectedbychangesintherecyclingsystem,includingrisingcoststothrowawaygarbage,buythefuelthatgoesintrucksandpaythepeoplethatcollectyourwaste. Thecostofhandlingandprocessingrecyclablescollectedfromhomesandbusinesseshassteadilyincreasedasthesystemhastriedtoadjusttomarketchanges.Severaljurisdictionsareincreasingtheratesongarbageandrecyclingtohelpcoverthoseaddedcosts.Ifyouhavequestionsaboutyourrates,callyourlocalgovernment. I’veheardthatcertainitemswecanrecycleathomenow,likemargarinetubsormilkcartons,won’tbeacceptedinthefuture.Isthistrue? Wedon’tknowyet.It’spossiblethatchangeswillbemadetowhat’sallowedinyourrecyclingathomeorwork.That’spartofwhatgovernmentsandtherecyclingindustryareworkingtofigureout:Overthelongrun,whatarethebestmaterialstorecycleintermsoftheavailabilityofmarketsandtheenvironmentalbenefitsthatcomefromrecycling? Iftherearechangestothelistofwhatgoesintherecyclingbin,Metroandlocalgovernmentswillcommunicatethisinformation. Fornow,nothinghaschanged.Andit’smoreimportantthanevertoknowwhatgoesinthebinandkeepeverythingelseout. Whydoesitmatterifthere’sstuffinmyrecyclingthatisn’trecyclable? Therecyclingyouputinyourrecyclingcontainersathomeandatworkissorted–bymachineryandbyhumanhands–atalocalfacility.Similaritems,suchasallthepaper,oralltheplastic,areseparatedandbaledfortransportandsale.  Whenweputitemsinourrecyclingbinsthatdon’tbelongthere,recyclablesarehardertosort.Asaresult,thebales havetoomuchothermaterialinthemandreducethelikelihoodtheycanbeprocessedandsold.Recyclablematerialsthatcan’tbesoldcan’tberecycled. Theextracostsforsortingandthendisposingofnon-recyclableitemsalsomakestherecyclingprocessmoreexpensive,andeventuallythatcosthastobesharedbyeveryone,includingrate-payers. Whathappenstostuffinrecyclingbinsthatisn'trecyclable? Thenon-recyclablestuffwon’tgetrecycled.It'llbethrownout.  Whenyouputitemslikeplastictake-outcontainersorfrozenfoodboxesinyourrecyclingbin,itaddscoststothesystembecauseithastobesortedout. Theseitemscanalsocausesafetyhazardstoworkers–likewhenplasticbagsgetcaughtintheequipment.Alsoimportant:Whentheseitemsendupinbalesofothermaterials,itmakesotherrecyclableshardertoselltomanufacturers. I’vebeentakingtheplastic bagsandplastictake-outcontainerstomygrocerystore,butnowtheyaren’ttakingthem.Areyoureallytellingmethatthesearenowgarbage? There’snoplaceforclamshellstogo,unfortunately.Thereremainsomeopportunitiesforbags–checkyourlocalgrocerystoreforacollectioncontainer.Youcanalsosearch Metro'sdatabase forplacesthatmaytakeavarietyofplastics. Recyclinghasneverbeentheperfectsolutionforreducingwaste.Beforerecycling,reduceandreuse.Thatcanbedifficult–plasticiseverywhere.Tryusingyourproducebagstwiceoruseclothbagsinstead,andlookforotherwaystoreducetheamountofplasticyouuse.Ifyoucanmakeabetterchoiceatthestore,doit.  SowhichplasticscanIrecyclenow? Untilrecently,manygrocerystoresandrecyclingfacilitiesinthePortlandareatookplasticbagsandplasticcontainersthatdon’tgointhehomerecyclingbin.Butmostofthoseoptionsarenotcurrentlyavailable.Andthat’sreallyfrustratingformanypeople.Here’swhat’simportanttorememberaboutplastic: Absolutelynoplasticbags,noplastictake-outcontainersandnoplasticberrycontainersinyourhomerecycling bin. Plasticbottlesandtubsgointherecyclingbin. There’safulllistofwhat’sacceptedathomeat,aswellasadatabaseyoucansearchforitemsthatmightberecyclableelsewhere,atthelinkbelow.Youcanalsocall503-234-3000withanyquestionsyouhaveaboutrecycling. Learnwhatplasticyoucanrecycleathome Ican’tstandthrowingawaythisplastic.ShouldIstockpileituntilthingschange? Storingrecyclablescanbeproblematic.Foodresidueincontainerscanattractbugsandrodentsandbreakdownthematerialsothatitisn’tmarketable.Thebestwaytoensureyou’rerecyclingasmuchaspossibleistocontinuetofollowthelistofwhatgoesinthebinathomeoratwork. IliveinPortland.Nowthatlessstuffisrecyclable,willthegarbagegetpickedupeveryweekinsteadofeveryotherweek? No,butyourgarbagecollectorprovidesoptionsforthesizeofyourgarbagecan,soyoucanincreaseitifneeded.Ifyouhave questionsaboutyourgarbageservice,callyourlocaljurisdictionoryourhauler. Backtotop Contact Contact:AskanexpertPhone:503-234-3000Link: Sendamessage Backtotop Feedback Takeourvisitorsatisfactionpoll. 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