How to Make the Most of Your Recycling
When it comes to recycling, 80% of Americans believe in its positive impact. Still, each year roughly two-thirds of all household recyclables, or about 32 million tons, are lost due to a lack of access to recycling or participation. In addition, further research shows 60% of people believe recycling is confusing, which can lead to tons of recyclable materials going to landfills. Brent Bell reports on how to make the most of your recycling. Learn more at https://WM.COM
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 You try to be conscientious, you recycle,
00:03 but are you doing it right?
00:05 And are you doing it safely?
00:07 Cardboard, bottles, and cans are all highly sought
00:10 after recycling materials.
00:11 Still, a lot of us may be guilty of wish cycling.
00:16 Brent Bell, WM's Vice President of Recycling,
00:19 joins us now with what you need to know
00:22 before throwing items in your recycle bin
00:24 and what you can do to make sure more materials are reused.
00:29 Welcome, Brent.
00:30 Morning.
00:33 So first of all, let's start with wish cycling.
00:37 Can you define that and what do consumers need to know
00:40 about what is and what isn't recyclable?
00:42 Yeah, so wish cycling is a term used to describe folks
00:47 that have the best intentions on recycling
00:49 and they wish that the items they throw in their bin
00:51 actually get recycled.
00:53 That's why it's really important to know the rules
00:55 on recycling, what items can and cannot be placed
00:57 in your curbside recycling programs.
00:59 I think we've all been guilty of wish cycling.
01:03 So help us out.
01:04 What are some of the items that you've seen people
01:08 try to recycle that are either impossible to recycle
01:12 or dangerous?
01:13 Yeah, so some of the items that are more dangerous,
01:17 lithium ion batteries.
01:18 These batteries are no good.
01:20 Propane tanks, these can actually cause explosions
01:23 and fires within our recycling facilities
01:25 and the trucks that carry them.
01:27 So we ask for folks to take those back to the retail stores.
01:30 The other item we have a lot of is tanglers.
01:32 So garden hoses this time of year, extension cords, ropes,
01:35 those all do not belong in the recycling bin.
01:37 They can actually wrap around the recycling equipment
01:40 and cause downtime of these facilities,
01:42 impacting how good recyclables get processed.
01:45 And then finally, we get a lot of sporting equipment,
01:47 basketballs, soccer balls, and then believe it or not,
01:51 we get about 5,000 bowling balls every year
01:54 in our recycling facilities.
01:56 None of this sporting equipment
01:57 belongs in the recycling bin.
01:59 Wow, Brent.
02:00 Okay, to review, avoid tanglers, cords,
02:05 and things that can get wrapped up in the equipment.
02:08 And if you wanna recycle your sporting equipment,
02:11 you can take it to a thrift store or the Goodwill
02:14 where perhaps another family can use it.
02:16 Or if it's spent, you should just toss it in the trash.
02:19 And for gosh sakes, do not recycle your bowling ball.
02:23 Do I have that right?
02:26 You get it right.
02:27 Please donate first if you can,
02:29 and then if it's no good, then throw it away.
02:31 Is there anything special we need to do
02:33 with our recyclables before putting them in the bin?
02:36 I mean, intuitively, most of us know,
02:39 rinse out your ketchup squeezer,
02:41 but is there anything else we should do to prep our items?
02:44 Yeah, so we ask that all recyclables be clean, loose,
02:48 and dry, meaning you don't need to bag your materials.
02:51 If you get materials like a container,
02:53 a bottle to hold liquids, empty the liquids out,
02:55 but you can actually place the caps back on.
02:57 Those caps are recyclable.
02:59 And then we get a lot of questions around pizza boxes.
03:02 Your pizza boxes are made out of cardboard.
03:03 You can recycle these boxes.
03:05 Just take that last slice of pepperoni or cheese pizza
03:07 out of the box before you place it in the recycling bin.
03:10 And then finally, for cardboard boxes,
03:13 we ask that people fold down, compress their cardboard boxes
03:16 so you can fit more items in your recycling bin.
03:18 I mean, I think all of us have to confess,
03:23 to at one time or another, recycling that pizza box
03:26 with that one last slice of pepperoni.
03:29 So we're not gonna do that anymore.
03:32 It starts with me.
03:33 I'm not gonna wish cycle that last slice.
03:35 I know that your company is endeavoring
03:37 to make it easier for people to recycle
03:40 and to do it properly and safely.
03:41 What are some of the things your company is doing
03:43 to facilitate better recycling?
03:45 Yeah, so at WM, we're investing over a billion dollars
03:50 in the recycling infrastructure in the US and Canada.
03:53 In both new and existing markets.
03:55 What this investment is going to allow us to do
03:57 is expand the capacity to folks
03:59 that don't have recycling services today,
04:01 as well as increase the recycling rate
04:03 of the communities that you live in.
04:06 The other thing at WM is we believe
04:07 in keeping recycling simple.
04:09 Make sure you recycle all your paper,
04:11 cardboard, bottles, and cans.
04:13 That's universal.
04:13 They can go in every program.
04:15 Brent, running out of time,
04:17 but I just wanna know quickly,
04:18 what are some of the items that can be made
04:21 with recyclable materials?
04:23 Real quick, one of the best stories we get
04:27 is the plastic bottles can turn into yarn,
04:29 which can make a shirt like I'm wearing,
04:31 socks, or even the uniforms for the WM employees.
04:35 Brent, you look awesome in your recycled shirt.
04:39 Where can viewers go for more information
04:41 on everything we've talked about?
04:43 Yes, viewers can go to wm.com
04:46 and look at the Recycling Right link for more information.
04:49 Thank you so much.
04:51 Thank you.
04:52 (people chattering)
04:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]