from ‘Today’ by Elyse Pham

It’s been a while since I posted anything, this was a good reminder for me, so I am sharing.

The recycling industry has a counter intuitive catchphrase, according to David Biderman, executive director of the Solid Waste Association of North America: “When in doubt, throw it out.”

“There are a lot of people who are what we refer to as wishful or aspirational recyclers,” Biderman told TMRW. “They say, ‘Well, this must be recyclable. This is a GLAD plastic container.’’”

In reality, this mentality makes it less likely that successful recycling takes place — all the more unfortunate when you realize how little recycling is even attempted at all. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only 30% of plastic water bottles are recycled.

To help us become more intentional in our eco-friendly habits, TMRW spoke with experts Biderman and David Keelig, president of the National Recycling Coalition, about the biggest recycling myths and misconceptions.

Myth: You should throw anything that you think might be recyclable into the recycling bin.

Is it OK to recycle that plastic container with a half-eaten salad in it? Or that old garden hose, or those batteries? You might think that it’s better than sending them straight to the landfill. But items that are nonrecyclable — or even just dirty — don’t magically transform when they get to the recycling facility.

In fact, the biggest problem for those facilities is contamination, or nonrecyclable materials entering the system, said Biderman. The leftover salad, for example, not only contaminates its own plastic container, but also the other recyclables in the bin.

“There is about a 20% contamination rate in the United States,” he explained. “So 20% of the processing capacity that is being used at a typical recycling facility is being used to process stuff that has to go to a landfill.”

A good rule of thumb is checking that everything you recycle is “clean, loose and dry,” Biderman said.

“You know what, this water bottle is recyclable, but I can’t throw it in a recycling bin,” he said. “If it’s filled with water, I need to empty it out.”

This calculus will save recycling facilities time, energy and $50 to $100 per ton — ensuring that their resources go toward real recycling efforts.

Myth: All plastic is recyclable.

When China passed the “National Sword” policy in 2018, banning the import of recycled consumer plastics along with other types of waste, it sent shockwaves through the recycling industry. The United States used to export most of its recycled plastic to China; suddenly, the industry was scrambling to handle hundreds of thousands of tons domestically. In the first couple of months, lots of recycled plastic went to the landfills.

Luckily, the market has since adapted, and new domestic facilities have popped up that are willing to accept and process plastic.

That is — certain kinds of plastic.

Plastics are classified into numerical categories, or resin-identification codes, based on the materials of which they’re made. You can usually figure out which category an item falls into by looking for the classic ‘chasing arrows’ recycling symbol somewhere on its surface. The symbol will have a number in the middle.

According to Keelig, the 1s and 2s are always recyclable. These include everyday items, like soda, Gatorade and water bottles, as well as jugs of laundry detergent, dish soap and milk.

“That’s about 80% to 90% of the marketplace for plastics,” said Keelig. “So if we just recycled those items, you could do a lot of great things and accomplish a lot in terms of recycling.”

However, “National Sword” posed a bigger problem for plastics in the 3 to 7 categories, which experience a much lower domestic demand.

Keeling and Biderman name yogurt containers, plastic grocery bags, plastic wrap, PVC pipe and toys as items that are commonly thought of as recyclable in curbside programs — and that were recyclable, up until 2018. Now they just clog up the system, and if you try to recycle them, they’ll likely end up in the landfill anyway. Instead, you should find ways to reuse them at home, or find alternative recycling platforms.

For example, many retail stores collect and recycle grocery bags and other plastic films. There’s also TerraCycle, which specifically processes hard-to-recycle materials.

The exact rules on which plastic numbers you can recycle also vary based on where you are in the United States. “It’s very community specific,” said Biderman. “You have to look it up on the Internet, or get communication from your garbage company or the local government.”

Myth: Recycling begins and ends at the recycling bin.

According to Biderman and Keelig, knowing how to recycle correctly is only the first step in becoming more waste conscious. We should also adjust our consumption patterns — like what we’re consuming and how much — before recycling even enters the picture.

“Number one, people should consume less,” said Biderman. “The reason we have problems in the waste and recycling system is because we generate so much waste. People need to be more mindful of what they’re generating and generate less.”

This means investing in reusable bags, containers, water bottles, drinking straws and kitchen towels, to name a few.

Keeling also emphasized the importance of purchasing recycled goods, thereby boosting the recycling industry as a whole. Many paper, aluminum and plastic products are made out of recycled content.

“Just know, you’re not recycling until you buy recycled,” said Keelig. “We all vote with our pocketbook. So think about what you’re buying in terms of recyclability.”

It can be hard sometimes to sit down and write for this blog. I know what sort of information I want to share, I am passionate and enthused; about the subjects I want to discuss and the technology that allows me to reach out to others in such a simple way.

Sometimes it is hard because I am overwhelmed with such a variety of ideas and subjects that choosing what to focus on is nearly impossible. Other times, I may pick a subject and start writing just fine, then suddenly realize I have spun down the rabbit hole of research and back links for over an hour and still not even written two full paragraphs!

These are the distractions that cause me to avoid sitting down to the keyboard and write in the first place. The excuse maker – “I don’t have time to research” “I should write about subject x before subject y”. The self critic, wondering what makes me think anyone cares what I have to say about any subject in the first place, I am no expert, I am not a writer. But I do it anyway and will keep doing it. Why?

Because I am someone who cares about this planet, and all the wonderful living things on it (humans, animals, plants, fish, trees, flowers, insects – you get the idea). I care about learning to treat this planet more gently. I care about our ability to be kind and to and help one another through life, because life gets messy and dirty and hard sometimes, but it is also full of beauty and love. I believe that learning to be a better person and better steward of this earth is a never ending process to be embraced with joy and gratitude. I believe in run-on sentences, lots of commas and good spelling. I enjoy learning more and trying harder. I want to share what I learn with others. I try to treat others as I prefer to be treated; encouraged towards growth without judgement, with kindness, humor, love and always, always appreciation. Gratitude is the key to happiness in my own humble opinion.

I appreciate quirky personalities, different cultures and cuisines. I love diversity and learning through other peoples experiences as well as my own. I will never tire of looking at someone else’s vacation pictures (especially if they are nature shots), but you will tire of looking at mine because I take SO many. There is no sound more magical on this earth than the pure, spontaneous laughter of a baby.

I am a contradictory person: I always want to do better, learn more, read more, exercise more, eat more and sleep more all at the same time. And I think most people are as complicated yet simple inside as well, just with their own particular list.

Environmental issues and the climate crises are really, really important to me and those are the subjects you will find me mostly going on about, here and in my everyday conversations. That doesn’t mean I live some perfectly carbon zero life. I don’t own a hybrid vehicle or have somehow found a way to live a plastic free life, but I am trying. I keep working on reducing my impact in ways that I can, learning more about ways that I can and sharing with others. We all have our own paths to walk and what it looks like to make a gentler impact is also different for each of us.

I feel like I just spun down the rabbit hole again. This time a stream of consciousness that really had no direction or purpose other than to express myself. But, hey, it’s my blog and if that is what I felt like doing with the time I have today, I can do that!