Routines — some avoid them whenever possible, yet others work everything (except maybe breathing) into a schedule. Knowing what to expect can be useful. At the Keep Alliance Beautiful Recycling Center when we open a Nos. 1-7 plastics bin from the trailer we expect . . . plastic. There are always surprises to sort, however. One place where there is a mix has been our Hefty Orange Energy Bags. While more of our recyclers are taking part there has been a learning curve, on our end and theirs, concerning what should be in the bag.
At the recycling center and the KAB office downtown, we have all done our best to give people interested in the orange bag option examples of what is acceptable as well as the promotional list for the program (which accompanies this column). Plastic shopping bags, bubble wrap, styrofoam cups and plastic food bags are examples. If the material is not plastic, recycle it elsewhere if possible. We do sort orange bag materials from our numbered plastics though including all these items in their own bag is ideal.
Finding an outlet to send these non-Nos. 1-7 plastics has been gaining popularity since 2019. In the first quarter of this year, KAB shipped 2,298 pounds of orange bags. That rate is even more impressive considering an average plastic grocery bag weighs several grams. Viewed in the scope of everything we sent out January through March, the puffy bales represented under two percent of the 194,784-pound total.
Myself and the other seven people on staff at the recycling center may miss a non-allowed piece or two in the orange bags as well, which will likely be removed when the materials are sorted again before becoming an end product such as plastic lumber. As with everything that leaves our doors, presenting a pure product is easier with help from recyclers.
I encourage our patrons to bring clean materials to the correct bin/trailer and respect our rules, such as bagging shredded paper and not leaving electronics outside the recycling center outside of business hours.
What we accept and how it is handled is always evolving, I admit. The latest significant change affects how we process paper. Though the trailers on the lot at Second Street and Cheyenne Avenue still differentiate between magazines, newspapers, shredded paper and office paper, we now mix all four together. Decisions often take into account what the current market pays (if anything) and how that squares with the labor necessary to sort and prepare for shipping.
Please call the recycling center (763-1410) or the KAB office (762-1729) for information on how to recycle or what we accept.