Recycling: Best Practice
Best Practice - Common Sense - Residential Recycling
The following is a brief description of the most common method of recycling in large metropolitan centers across the nation, followed by a more practical method that could save both time and money.
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People (residents / consumers) get in their cars and drive to the grocery store where they purchase a variety of consumable products which are packaged in recyclable containers (food, laundry products, automotive products, etc . . .).
People (residents / consumers) get in their cars and drive to the grocery store where they purchase a variety of consumable products which are packaged in recyclable containers (food, laundry products, automotive products, etc . . .). •They haul all of these products home in several bags often weighing well over 100 hundred pounds combined.
They haul all of these products home in several bags often weighing well over 100 hundred pounds combined.•They consume these products at home throughout the week with much of the packaging thrown in the trash and some of it placed in a recycle bin.
They consume these products at home throughout the week with much of the packaging thrown in the trash and some of it placed in a recycle bin.•On a scheduled day, workers from the municipality (or a contracted company) drive through the neighborhoods of the municipality, stopping at each house that has a recycle bin placed out to pick up the empty containers.
On a scheduled day, workers from the municipality (or a contracted company) drive through the neighborhoods of the municipality, stopping at each house that has a recycle bin placed out to pick up the empty containers.•Usually, around one week after the previous trip to the store (and perhaps on the same day that a truck comes to their house) the people drive back to the store, empty handed, to purchase another load of products packaged in recyclable containers.
Usually, around one week after the previous trip to the store (and perhaps on the same day that a truck comes to their house) the people drive back to the store, empty handed, to purchase another load of products packaged in recyclable containers.Why not carry your empty containers back to the store with you? They could be placed on a conveyor at the entrance to the store and carried off to a place where they could be collected for bulk pick up. If space allowed, they could even be sorted and processed on site. It would be a lot less expensive to build this conveyor system and pick up the recyclable materials from several stores rather than from several thousand homes. Or, at least set up a large collection area in an unused portion of the parking area where people could drop off their materails as they drive in. Attendents could be on hand to help get materials out of the car if neccessary and could even do some preliminary sorting when time allows.
Other locations that could be designated as collection centers due to the frequency and regularity of which people travel there are schools, churches, workplaces, gas stations, and recreation centers.
Although it isn't nearly as efficient in the big picture, those municipalities wishing to save some money can have the residents do the sorting ahead of time. This is best handled by only receiving a specific material on a given week at locations that are frequented weekly (grocery store, church, gas station), or a specific different material every day at locations that are frequented daily (schools or work). For example, schools might collect (receive) newspaper on Mondays, aluminum on Tuesdays, PET on Wednesdays, HDPE on Thursdays, and tin cans on Fridays.
This method could be a stand alone system or used to compliment your curbside program. Sure there are logistics issues and cooperation with businesses is essential, but it is all about finding creative ways for communities to work together for the common good so that everyone comes out a winner.
