Previous posts (Sept. 3, 2009 and Oct. 2, 2011) discussed
early recycling research at the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Products
Laboratory. I had a special assignment to do technical editing for project
personnel, and also to handle public information tasks. Recycling was a hot
topic in the early 1970s. Handling media inquiries and responding to requests
for presentations at schools and civic organizations kept me hopping.
To do my work well, I had to have a good understanding of
the goals of the research and what was involved. To provide that understanding,
Project Leader Wayne Carr spent many hours with me explaining his philosophy
and why and how the Forest Products Lab group was working in the area they had
chosen. Carr was a chemical engineer with experience in
the pulp and paper
industry. He also was a dedicated environmentalist. He taught me a lot.
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| Good words to live by |
Carr’s basic thesis was that despite all the good intentions
of many people, recycling systems requiring much work by household members would
never solve landfill problems. Carr
firmly believed that although some Americans could be motivated to clean and
separate their household trash for recycling, at least as many would not
participate even in the best-designed and publicized programs.
Carr saw the need for a new automated industry where
homeowners could continue to toss all their garbage and trash into single
containers for collection. The waste then would be transported to processing
centers for separation and shipment to various manufacturing facilities to be
remade into products.
We’re not there yet, but many American cities and towns are well
on the way. In San Francisco ,
a city with serious landfill shortages, the mayor recently announced a goal of
100 percent recycling, with composting the garbage part of household waste as
the final step.
Was Carr right about individuals making an effort to
recycle? He was if recent history where we live is a good indicator.
Our home is in a rural township. When we moved here five
years ago the recycling system in place was cumbersome. We had to separate trash into cardboard (only
small, flat pieces), paper, food cans, and very few plastic items, and then
carry it in individual tubs to the curb for monthly pick-up. The majority of
township residents ignored the program, and just continued to toss everything
into one container for pickup and transport to a landfill.
At the start of 2012, the township changed the recycling program
and the residents’ part in it became a whole lot easier. Each home got one
96-gallon container (more for an extra $20 each per year). We could toss all
types of paper, cardboard, and metal cans plus many kinds of plastic containers
into it and wheel it to the roadside for pickup and transport to a separation
center. Weekly pickups of all else went on as before. Our typical “all else”
now fills one very small bag, much less than half of what it was under the old
system even though we had been conscientious recyclers.
What happened to participation? Under the old “tubs sort-and-carry”
program only 35 percent of homes in the township recycled. After six months of
the new single-container operation, 51 percent of households were recycling and
the tonnage of material collected had increased by 108 percent. By the end of the year, program growth forced
the township to add a whole new collection route for recycling pickups.
Let’s hope the good recycling news keeps coming, where we
live and across the nation. Unless immigration (legal and illegal) is drastically
reduced or the reproduction rate drops dramatically, the population of the U.S.
is projected to double in the next 70 to 80 years. Where will we find landfill
space then?
7 comments:
I live in one of the few cities where curbside recycling works. I dutifully fill my little blue tub every Tuesday and so do my neighbors.
When recycling first started in Oklahoma City years ago, they used the tub system you describe. Cumbersome at best. I think the best I managed to do was a tub of old newspapers. I'm in a Denver suburb now and each home has two of the big roll-out trash bins -- one for regular trash and one for unsorted recyclables. Participation looks to be near 100% on collection days. Progress!
We have an A-1 recycling program here in Arlington VA. These days, I have more in the recycle bin than in my 'trash' bin. We also compost much of our yard waste.
What we don't compost ourselves, the county takes at the curb and turns into mulch. I love this topic and I am host to about 1 million earth worms. BTW did you know earthworms are imported from Europe and not native critters. Ditto honey bees. Of course you knew that. Dianne
I didn't know that, Dianne. Thanks. We had better be careful about attacking all "invasive species." Obviously, some are good guys.
I recently heard a report about the severe chemical dumping problem in China and do believe we've come a long way. I wrote this blog a while back about recycling then versus now. I watch my own behavior as I go through a dozen tissues a day and realize I have much to improve.
http://www.retirewow.com/green-living-ideas-then-and-now/
Every home in our city has been receiving 3 bins we roll out to our curbs weekly. One is for green items the city composts. Periodically residents can go to the city yard and obtain free commpost. Another bin is for recyclables (or we can take some of them to nearby sites that will buy them from us i.e. plastic bottles, cans, paper, etc.) The third can is for the remaining garbage. I have very little of the latter, so have only a small container.
I had a worm bed I kept in the house initially as the container company said I could safely do. I really enjoyed them and using the worm juice they produced on vegetation. But, when teeny creatures I was unable to identify appeared on top of the soil, I ceased to want to keep the bin inside. Unfortunately, I had no place outside where I could keep them cool enough in the summer. Outside, a water-soaked gunny sack atop the soil in the bed wasn't enough and actually became a problem.
As in many things, California has been a leader in recycling. Joared, your city deserves a gold star for its program.
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