Information provided by San Benito County Integrated Waste Management.
San Benito County Integrated Waste Management is working to make clear what items residents can recycle, what items cannot be recycled and why, in a recent press release.
Residents will soon see a new ‘Recycle Right’ program in San Benito County because of new recycling data. This data, gathered by a third party, shows recyclables in San Benito have over 25% contamination. This means items that should be in the garbage were placed in the recycling bin.
To address this problem, the San Benito County Integrated Waste Management Division and Recology are collaborating on this Recycle Right program to help residents and businesses learn more about what not to put in the recycling cart. The release noted that recycling contamination increases recycling processing costs, sends more tons to costly landfills and reduces the value of the materials that were sorted properly.
“What this new, local data shows us is that roughly one in four items placed in your home or business recycling container should actually be placed in your garbage or organics container,” said Celina Stotler, staff analyst for Integrated Waste Management. “It is important for our residents and businesses to keep recycling clean, meaning to keep foods, liquids, and contaminants out of the recycling stream.”
The release added a quiz to make Recycle Right a little more fun and impactful. Does plastic film or plastic bags (like candy wrappers, chip bags, dry cleaner bags or sandwich bags) go in the garbage or recycling cart? (The garbage cart is the correct answer.) Does a pizza box go in the recycling cart, garbage cart or organics cart? (The organics cart is correct.) Where does a plastic-coated paper cup go (like the kind used for coffee ordered to go)? (The garbage cart is the correct answer.)
The “Recycle Right” campaign includes new social media informational posts, newspaper advertisements and customer mailings to help residents put only acceptable materials into recycling carts and put other items in the trash or organics bin. Reducing contamination helps lower the recycling processing costs and “contamination rate” in the county—an important indicator of how successfully residents are all recycling. To help residents understand better, Recology is using a cart-tagging system letting customers know that unacceptable items or “contaminants” were found in their cart or bin.
“We understand that residents are home more during COVID-19 and want to do the right thing. This Recycle Right campaign is designed to help residents and businesses increase recycling and work toward zero waste,” said Phillip Couchee, general manager for Recology. “’A World Without Waste’” is our company motto, and we’re committed to that goal.”
Find more information at www.recology.com/recology-san-benito-county/recycle-right/, review your Recycle Guide,and use the WhatBin search tool to learn what’s recyclable and how to sort properly.
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