by Louise Mann
If collected recyclables are not sold and made into new product, your recycling program is a sham. Tossing collected recycling into the landfill IS legal in Arkansas, if only one fee is charged for both recycling and garbage collection. Might want to check your garbage/recycling bill.
Don’t you want your recycling collected in a way that keeps the recyclables marketable? Dirty MRF is a system whereby garbage and recycling are placed in the same can that you set out. And then tossed into the same compartment on the truck. Supposedly the recyclables are separated at a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Guess why it’s called a dirty MRF?
Single stream has been touted as the next best idea. That truck has a single compartment, supposedly just for recyclables. The initial single stream programs included glass. Of course glass broke and contaminated the recyclables. While glass has been removed from most single stream programs, the programs still lack transparency which diminishes trust.
The next least bad program is dual stream. That means the truck has two compartments, one for paper and one for containers. The container compartment includes plastic, steel, and aluminum. Some may include glass. Again, contamination and transparency are significant issues.
Fayetteville has low contamination rates because the truck has a separate compartment for each type recyclable. This system is called curb-sort, source separation and multi-stream.
The fewer compartments on a truck, the higher your contamination rate.
Does staff not know the difference in a dual stream truck and their own multi-sort truck?! The $100,000 report the Council accepted Tuesday night, defines dual stream as a TWO CART collection system, without mention of the difference in TRUCKS. If the report includes confusing or wrongbasic definitions what else in it is wrong or confusing?
Different truck types result in different amounts of contamination. The amount of contamination affects the price we will get paid for the recyclables. Currently, the sale of recyclables offsets the cost of the program. Staff recommended that we share the revenues with the MRF that is taking and “sorting” our single stream recycling. The finances with single stream might not shake out as we hope.
“In our every deliberation, we must consider the impacts on the next 7 generations.” paraphrased from The Constitution of the Iroquois Nations