Keep America Beautiful and Keep Nebraska Beautiful (KNB) conference sessions always yield useful information and interaction. I prefer to gather the former (for later application) while the latter depends on the situation. A presentation on the second day of the recent Keep America Beautiful 2024 National Conference in San Diego exemplified how there is always potential to expand recycling services and collaboration.
“Recycling the ‘Unrecyclable’” caught my eye as a sure breakout session choice the second day. What could Keep Alliance Beautiful add? How do other Keep America Beautiful affiliates handle materials that most communities throw away?
Eric Ascalon, global director of community development with TerraCycle, and Solanch Lopez, Keep Coral Gables Beautiful, spoke on “unique recycling outreach best practices with tips and tools that can be utilized by communities all over, regardless of curbside versus drop-off programs,” the conference app states. Perfect, we offer curbside and trailer/recycling center drop-off options.
A poll gave Eric his opener. Sixty-five attendees had responded to an online question about why something on curbside is not recyclable. He said TerraCycle is a mission-based for-profit company that comes up with solutions to the waste crisis by recycling things that can’t be traditionally recycled.
A glaring example is cleaning up the oceans. The fundamental problem with collecting ocean plastics is they’re degraded too much and usually end up in the landfill after being extracted, he said. TerraCycle is working with Proctor and Gamble to add ocean plastic to other plastic thereby recycling the mixture into bottles for P&G products. “All podiums at the Tokyo Olympics were made with difficult to recycle plastic in the arena,” Eric continued. TerraCycle has global reach through 500 employees, half based in their Trenton, NJ, office.
Cigarette butts came to mind when I saw the session would feature somebody from TerraCycle. Recycling this often cited most prolific type of litter was emphasized a few years ago at the Keep America Beautiful conference in Memphis. Among other materials, affiliates (and others) can send a package of butts to TerraCycle to be recycled with a payment by the pound for their efforts.
TerraCycle exists because we generate waste, Eric said. “Waste doesn’t exist in nature. We are obsessed with consumption and convenience.”
Our group traveled back to the 1950s as slides illustrated the start of a throw away culture and more complex packaging. A Bethlehem Steel ad promoted disposable steel cans instead of taking glass bottles back to reuse. Capturing the reality of current culture, Eric observed, “Most plastic is used for a few seconds – guzzling a fountain drink. (Our) linear economy is unstable. . . . We need a circular economy – reuse, repair, remanufacture.”
The misconception is a particular product or material cannot be recycled. “Technology exists to recycle almost anything under the sun,” he said. “The reason it’s not curbside recyclable is economics.”
TerraCycle has been successful by reaching out to consumer brands whose products are not usually recyclable, Eric explained. “(You) need to leverage their need for that goodwill and positive press.” He showed how a common metal, aluminum, is worth much more as a soda can versus a coffee pot where the processing is much more difficult.
Solanch highlighted her affiliate’s success in recycling batteries, often banned from curbside collection. They located collection sites in government and public buildings.
Her presentation came to mind as Keep Alliance Beautiful accepted three boxes of batteries last week from Keep Sidney Beautiful (KSB). I met Lasandra Buckner, KSB executive director, and Michelle Haum, KSB educational director, at the KNB state conference last year. On a tour of the recycling center we discussed collaborating to accept materials not currently recyclable in their community. I appreciated their delivery of the batteries and look forward to assisting where we can in the future.