An important question I consider in my mind every day — and has been asked by several others in recent weeks — is, “How do you decide what’s the correct way to recycle?” 

The answer is that I seek out what appear to be “Industry Best Practices.” That means I research any legitimate places I can find that deal with a topic, and see where they agree. In general, I will recommend those practices, regardless of the practices of our current waste collectors. The theory is that, if we do more than is required now, we won’t hurt ourselves in the short run, and we will be ready when the process changes. If we do less than is required, then our recycling ends up in the trash, which wastes our time, money, and effort for no environmental gain. 

There are two major exceptions to that rule of thumb. The first exception is cases in which things we would think could be recycled, really cannot. The two big products there are Styrofoam and plastic bags. Styrofoam is sometimes even marked as Type 6 plastic, which is correct, but it requires specialized equipment to recycle it. The closest place to do that is in New Jersey, and the material is so light, it’s wholly uneconomical to truck it that far. Plastic bags are usually Type 4 plastic, which is also recyclable, but will get tangled up in the sorting machines at any sorter’s facility, so cannot be recycled in the blue bins. Those, along with other similar plastic films, need to go back to the bins provided for the purpose by the grocery stores. Separated from other products, such films can be successfully recycled. 

The second exception is that, if our current provider, usually because of the peculiarities of their sorting equipment or the demands of the marketplace for sorted commodities, requires something different from common rules, then I would suggest their way as the way to go. We obviously gain nothing if we promote practices our processors cannot handle. A good example here is toothpaste tubes, which have been regularly rejected by our collectors because the plastic in them is not recyclable by the reprocessing facilities. It was recently brought to my attention  by a reader, that some toothpaste tubes do not have a triangle on them, but have a statement that says they can be recycled along with Number 2 plastic. My research showed that, in fact, most materials processing facilities (the places our collectors send the stuff) cannot handle that type of plastic. With nowhere to send the materials, our collectors cannot handle them, so  I go with the local collectors and recommend putting them in the trash.  

Clearly, not all package labelling is reliable. Watch this column for a more in-depth discussion of package labelling coming along very soon.

The Recycle Bin is a weekly column on what to recycle, what not to recycle, and why, in Brunswick. The public is encouraged to submit questions by email to brunsrecycleinfo@gmail.com. Harry Hopcroft is a member of the Brunswick Recycling and Sustainability Committee.