Recycling Initiative

The world of waste materials is so complicated that even the experts struggle to understand how to make the most impact. Still, there are obvious ways in which we can make a difference. One simply immediate way is to reduce packaging.

According to the EPA, containers and packaging accounted for 28% of waste received at municipal landfills (the latest figures available). Purchasing in bulk, bringing your own bags and selecting products with minimal packaging are good ways to keep some waste out of the landfill.

Clearly, reducing waste, heading for Zero Waste, is the ultimate goal. However, for most of us that will be a gradual process as we get more familiar with our waste stream and the alternatives we can choose.

We began the Recycling Intitiative to begin to help reduce waste in Floyd County. Over the past two years, we’ve established a presence at the Floyd Farmers Market on first Saturdays of the month. Our primary goal is to educate consumers. Our secondary goal is to reduce the County’s waste stream (it costs the County a lot to send trash to the landfill).

Where Does Everything Go?

Local Vendors & Organizations

Many of the odd items are being collected for local vendors and charitable organizations such as the clear glass wine bottles (local vintner), cardboard 6-pack containers (Republic of Floyd), old towels (Humane Society), egg cartons (Plenty and Weathertop), bubble wrap (Chic’s Antiques), nice grocery bags (Plenty), and mason jars (the Refill Store/Farmers Market vendors).

National Programs

We are collecting for a number of national programs as well. Some of these, such as Burt’s Bees, BIC’s pen recycling program, Gillette’s razor blade program, and SmartWool’s used sock program pay for shipping. Others, such as the medicine bottles, sneakers, #4 & #5 plastic, and used books we have to deliver or pay for shipping ourselves. We collect donations to cover these costs.

TREX Challenge: Plastic Film

Although we won our TREX challenge to collect 500 lbs of plastic film and won a TREX bench which you can enjoy at the Floyd Farmers Market Pavilion, we still work with homeowners to sort their plastic film into recyclable and non-recyclable materials.

The plastic film we collect or that you take to the recycling bins at Food Lion or any major grocery store gets sent to TREX, the decking manufacturer based in Winchester, VA. TREX uses 95% recycled material in their products.

What is Plastic Film?

Plastic film is the thin plastic that is used for grocery bags, produce bags, and case overwrap. It is stretchy, comes in any color, and may be marked as #2 or #4 plastic, or as “Plastic In-Store Recyclable,” though it often is not marked.

The list of items TREX accepts include: Bread bags, produce bags, newspaper sleeves, pallet wrap and stretch film, salt and ice bags, grocery bags, case overwrap, bubble wrap, wood pellet bags, plastic shipping envelopes, dry cleaning bags, Ziploc and other reclosable food storage bags.

Plastic film used in manufacture and packaging of meat, frozen food, animal feed, compost, and hay is not accepted. Also unacceptable are shiny, crinkly plastics that tear without stretching, very heavy duty (<10 mil) plastic, vinyl (such as picnic table cloths or shower curtains), and oily or highly soiled materials.

Some Facts About Plastics and Recycling

It’s confusing in the recycling world. You can put a recycling label—the one called chasing arrow–on any product, whether it can be recycled or not. The arrows with no number in the center indicate that there is no common recycling option for that product! Also, some of the numbers used eg. #7 are rarely accepted for recycling. #7 indicates ‘other plastics’ and is hard to deal with. Here’s more about California’s efforts to address this confusion:

So, what is the use of the recycling logos? They do help to identify the products that can be recycled, and they let you avoid buying the products that are to recycle—those that will almost certainly end up in our landfills and causing pollution.

The message for us all—we need to really pay attention to what’s between those chasing arrows.

Plastic waste can cause harm to the environment, wildlife, and humans.  Debris accumulation can cause habitat structures to be changed which can indirectly cause declines in species impacted.  Chemical impacts including toxins released from some types of plastics posing hazards to the food chain including some types of seafood and then to humans who consume them.  Threats to wildlife include consuming harmful particles of plastic debris and entanglement.

Type #1: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE or PET)

Widely used as bottles for beverages like water and soda.  One of the most widely recycled plastics in the world. Currently recycled by Floyd County

Examples:  Beverage bottles, Food bottles/jars (salad dressing, peanut butter, honey, etc.) and polyester clothing or rope. 

In 2019, a minimum of 5,094.1 million pounds of post-consumer plastic material sourced in the U.S. was recovered for recycling in the categories of Bottles (by resin), Non-bottle Rigids, Film, and Other Plastics (excluding foam).

As was the case in 2018, most of the plastic recovered for recycling in the U.S. was purchased by reclaimers in the U.S. or Canada (87.9%) versus by overseas markets. A total of 4,476.3 million pounds was reported as reclaimed in the U.S. and Canada. The remaining 617.8 million pounds, or 12.1%, of plastic recovered for recycling was exported overseas.

Plastic bottles continued to make up the majority of the recycled plastic recovered for recycling at 55.2%, or 2,809.4 million pounds, a decrease of 48.5 million pounds as compared to 2018. The amount of plastic resin generated for use in bottles increased by 11 million pounds to 9,878 million pounds in 2019. The all-bottle recycling rate for 2019 was 28.4%, down half a percentage point from 2018.7

EPA estimated 14.5 million tons of plastic containers and packaging were generated in 2018, approximately 5.0 percent of MSW generation. (Plastic packaging as a category in this analysis does not include single-service plates and cups, and trash bags, both of which are classified as nondurable goods).

The recycling rate of PET bottles and jars was 29.1 percent in 2018 (910,000 tons). It is estimated that recycling of HDPE natural bottles (e.g., milk and water bottles) was 220,000 tons, or 29.3 percent of generation. Overall, the amount of recycled plastic containers and packaging in 2018 was almost 2 million tons or 13.6 percent of plastic containers and packaging generated. Additionally, 16.9 percent of the plastic containers and packaging waste generated was combusted with energy recovery, while the remainder (over 69 percent) was landfilled.

The total generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2018 was 292.4 million tons (U.S. short tons, unless specified) or 4.9 pounds per person per day. Of the MSW generated, approximately 69 million tons were recycled and 25 million tons were composted. Together,  almost 94 million tons of MSW were recycled and composted, equivalent to a 32.1 percent recycling and composting rate.

The recycling rate (including composting) was 32.1 percent in 2018, down from 34.7 percent in 2015.The per capita rates in 2018 were:

• 1.16 pounds per person per day for recycling.
• 0.42 pounds per person per day for composting.
• 0.30 pounds per person per day for other food management.

The EPA estimates that 75% of the American waste stream is recyclable, but we only recycle about 30% of it” Despite only representing 5% of the world population, the U.S. generates more waste than any other country in the world. (World Watch Institute)

In less than 15 years, worldwide waste is expected to double. (World Watch Institute)

Recycling one ton of plastic bottles saves the equivalent energy usage of a two person household for one year.