Sarah Dearman, Chief Innovation Officer at The Recycling Partnership, shares ways you can properly recycle at home and how innovation may soon change recycling for the better.
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00:00 Thank you so much for joining us, Sarah.
00:02 - Yes, thanks for having me.
00:04 I'm excited to talk about this important topic.
00:07 - Yes, Sarah, recycling is a global issue,
00:10 but it really starts in your home.
00:12 What type of recycling is working well?
00:15 - When we think about recycling,
00:16 we really think about a few things that are important.
00:19 First of all, are people able to recycle?
00:22 So do you have easy access at home?
00:25 If you don't, then call your building manager
00:28 or your elected official and tell them
00:30 that it's important to you.
00:32 And then, are you buying things that are actually recyclable?
00:36 Companies are working hard to make things recyclable,
00:39 but we still have a ways to go.
00:41 So you can always look at the package
00:43 to see if it's recyclable.
00:44 And anytime you can choose something that is recyclable
00:48 or has recycled content over something else,
00:51 then you're really helping to change.
00:52 - You've heard of the term wish cycling.
00:55 Can you break that down for us?
00:57 And can recycling become more simplified in the home?
01:01 - Yes, it's really important that you know
01:06 what you can recycle,
01:07 because if you put something in recycling
01:09 that isn't actually recyclable,
01:11 it's taking a longer trip to the landfill,
01:13 which has more environmental impact.
01:15 And that's exactly what we don't want to do.
01:17 So if you know what can be recycled where you're located,
01:22 that's the best way that you can help.
01:24 - Sarah, and your Chief Innovation Officer
01:26 at the Recycling Partnership,
01:27 what's ahead to improve recycling?
01:30 - This is part of a program we have called Recycle Check.
01:34 And soon you'll actually see QR codes
01:37 starting to go on packages where you can scan it.
01:41 And it'll actually tell you if that package is recyclable
01:44 where you're located.
01:45 So that's going to be really helpful.
01:47 I would say for the future of recycling,
01:49 a couple of things that we're really focusing on,
01:52 making sure everyone has easy access to recycle,
01:55 making sure everyone knows what can be recycled easily,
02:00 and then working with companies
02:02 so that we can make everything
02:03 that people bring into their homes recyclable.
02:06 How much easier will that be?
02:08 We'll be able to reduce the confusion
02:09 of pretty much everything you bring home
02:11 goes into recycling.
02:13 - Thanks, Sarah.
02:15 And one last question for you,
02:16 if you had to bring it down to one thing,
02:19 what's the most important thing you can do at home
02:21 to help recycle and reduce waste?
02:25 - Be a recycling champion.
02:27 So find out what can be recycled where you live,
02:31 and then tell your friends, your family, your neighbors.
02:35 Recycling has a really positive impact
02:37 by reducing the amount of material going to the landfill,
02:40 as well as reducing the natural resources
02:43 that are used to make new materials.
02:45 So help us inform everyone about how easy it is to recycle
02:50 once you know what can actually go into the bin.
02:53 - Great.
02:54 Sarah Dairman, Chief Innovation Officer
02:56 of the Recycling Partnership.
02:57 Thank you so much.
02:58 - Yes, thank you.