“It looks like you’re ready for a load,” the lady said this past Thursday as I dumped a couple flats of her tin cans. “Two, I hope,” came my reply as we both looked over bales and totes ready to ship. Volumes at the Keep Alliance Beautiful Recycling Center keep growing compared to 2023 as 43,935 additional pounds left to close the loop through the first three quarters of this year.
Growth in local rates is a testament to dedicated recyclers, KAB staff and volunteers and a dependable hauler. Our goal is to sustain a positive trajectory in volume leaving the recycling center when posting the final numbers at the end of each year. Even though the first quarter of this year proved a little behind 2023 at 197,110 compared to 202,188, we have been in the swing of things since April. At the six-month mark this year eclipsed 2024 by 37,408 pounds (454,725 to 417,317).
This past quarter only posted a high water mark thus far this year for one category: No. 1-7 plastics at 15,076 pounds. Due to the greater memory (ability to bounce back when compressed) of the material compared to others we bale plastic takes longer to process. I appreciate the diligence it takes to sort and wrangle that much plastic in three months time. This quarter was the most efficient at cutting into a seemingly endless stream of plastic since we shipped 24,425 pounds two years ago.
Not every category of material KAB accepts made it on a trailer this quarter. We only see certain donations, such as car parts for example, once or twice a year. Volumes other than plastic for the third quarter of 2024 (in pounds): Cardboard 134,804; Steel/tin cans 6,038; Aluminum cans 2,934; Mixed paper 31,313; Electronics 6,709; Glass 16,445; Hefty bag 4,276 and Other 3,835.
Less than three months to go to set a new volume record for our recycling center and see how close we can come to that elusive million-pound mark.