| Author |
Message |
    
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2296
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 - 3:35 pm: |     |
I watched the WM truck pick up recycling from my curb and my neighbors' curbs this morning and all of the paper items (newspapers, cardboard and "junk mail") went in together ...
So why the heck can't we just put all the paper into the cardboard boxes rather than all this separating and tying, etc.?
(PS - I will admit that I don't tie up my newspapers ... I just put them in a separate bin, but I'm ready to throw them all in together now!) |
The Libertarian
Citizen
Username: Local_1_crew
Post Number: 733
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 - 4:05 pm: | |
recycling in this country is a scam anyway. more energy is used to convert recycled material to usable goods than it does to create new goods. we actually create more pollution by recycling. |
letters016
Citizen
Username: Letters016
Post Number: 137
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 - 8:04 pm: | |
But if you don't seperate them then you take away their fun of ignoring the fact that you seperated them. Get it?
I've been meaning to call WM up and ask them about this.
God, I really hope Looneytarian isn't dead on about this but I've had the same feeling for a while. |
The Libertarian
Citizen
Username: Local_1_crew
Post Number: 741
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 - 8:36 pm: | |
so you suspected it but never bothered to research it and take a chance on learning something? seems to be your modus operandi. |
letters016
Citizen
Username: Letters016
Post Number: 138
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 - 8:55 pm: | |
Looneytarian,
I started to respond but you’re just not worth it. I find you boorish. You’re nothing more than a cyber bully. You don’t intimidate me or most others here. If I met you on the street you would probably seem like a nice person. But in the depths of your home safe from physical contact you take on this other persona. I feel sorry for you and you should get some help.
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Mr Spock
Citizen
Username: Mrspock
Post Number: 6
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, July 3, 2005 - 11:56 am: | |
I, too, see this. It is illogical. Can someone from Town Hall please explain why this happens? |
eb1154
Citizen
Username: Eb1154
Post Number: 375
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 4, 2005 - 7:07 pm: | |
The junk mail and the cardboard are put in to the same truck because the current vendor that purchases these recyclables separates them at their plant. We are actually getting more money from this vendor for the commingled product than we were getting for the separated product. We have the residents separate everything because the market/vendor can change and it would be too hard to get everyone to comply with the changes.
The newspapers should not be mixed with any other recyclables. I’ve spoken with the road supervisor for WM and he has informed me that the only way the newspaper gets mixed in with the other items is if it was put out after they picked up the newspaper.
If you have any questions you can call me at the recycling center @762-1175.
Eric |
letters016
Citizen
Username: Letters016
Post Number: 149
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Monday, July 4, 2005 - 11:11 pm: | |
Eric,
That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification. |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2312
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - 10:21 am: | |
Does this mean that if the newspaper is separate, it commands a better deal, but they can take it with the other paper if necessary?
That would explain everything I've observed and read, but otherwise it still seems pointless to be separating. |
eb1154
Citizen
Username: Eb1154
Post Number: 376
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - 6:03 pm: | |
The newspaper brings in a great deal of money and it does need to be separated.
The commercial paper and cardboard gets mixed currently by WM because they didn't realized I had changed the contract before they submitted thier bid for the curbside pickup. It's a long story but it was to our benefit to let WM ixed the products at the curb.
We also put a couple of options in the last bid package and one of them was to do commingled pickup at the curb, and believe it or not it cost us a lot more money to do it that way. I was shocked myself.
The TC had a group of residents do a study of about 5 nearby towns on how they did recycling and it's cost. Maplewood's numbers came in the best out of all of the town's studied. I know it may be a pain in the --- to separate but it does pay for us to do what we are doing. Again, if anyone would like to meet with me to discuss any of the recycling issues you can call me at 762-1175.
Eric |
phyllis
Citizen
Username: Phyllis
Post Number: 396
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - 6:28 pm: | |
A couple of questions for someone in the know...
I've seen WM pick up mixed paper in paperbags. Everythign in writing says no paper bags. Which is it?
Also, people are throwing their plastics in plastic bags at the dump. Allowed or not allowed?
And of course, by allowed, I mean are we being counterproductive. I try to remember to bring my paper bags back to the store to use, but it rarely happens. I've been able to recycle them everywhere else that I've lived. |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2321
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - 7:22 pm: | |
When I put my plastics in plastic bags, those are plastic bags labeled with a recycling number 2. (That is the case with some, but not all, of those plastic bags from the grocery store and other places. Others are 4s and not recyclable.) If using the bags in this way is a problem, someone needs to include that information in the recycling literature and also explain why. (As Eric has explained the paper separation issues here.) Explanations such as this will go a long way toward improving compliance with rules that otherwise seem quite arbitrary as well as contradictory at times to observations, so I would really recommend more information be spread in this regard ... in the recycling instructions as well as media other than MOL. |
eb1154
Citizen
Username: Eb1154
Post Number: 378
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - 5:47 pm: | |
Phyllis, The commercial paper should not be in paper bags and the plastics should be emptied from any bags. The vendor hasn't complained to me about the paper bags yet, but that doesn't mean they won't in the future. There may only be a couple of paper bags per load and this may be why they haven't complained to me. We are permitted a certain percentage of "contamination" per load. But it still doesn't make it right.
Sac, I agree about the information needing to be out there. I do believe the plastic info was in the Maple Leaflet in the spring or winter edition.
Eric Burbank |
eb1154
Citizen
Username: Eb1154
Post Number: 379
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - 5:54 pm: | |
Phyllis, The commercial paper should not be in paper bags and the plastics should be emptied from any bags. The vendor hasn't complained to me about the paper bags yet, but that doesn't mean they won't in the future. There may only be a couple of paper bags per load and this may be why they haven't complained to me. We are permitted a certain percentage of "contamination" per load. But it still doesn't make it right.
Sac, I agree about the information needing to be out there. I do believe the plastic info was in the Maple Leaflet in the spring or winter edition.
Eric Burbank |
phyllis
Citizen
Username: Phyllis
Post Number: 398
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - 6:48 pm: | |
Eric,
Thanks so much for the info. FYI - I would say that there are a good 10-20 kitchen garbage bags full of plastics in the dumpster when I go to dump off my plastic. I assumed it wasn't the way to go (using plastic to recycle plastic doesn't make much sense anyway!)
Sac, I'll check out my garbage bags to see if they are 2s. Thanks for the tip. Most that I see at the dump are plain old kitchen garbage bags, as I said.
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eb1154
Citizen
Username: Eb1154
Post Number: 380
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - 7:04 pm: | |
My guys usually try to get most of the bags out of the container before we send it out. The other thing we need people to do is to crush the plastic before they throw them in the container. This will make more room in the container so we won't have to haul as many containers which will save us more money.
Eric |
tom
Citizen
Username: Tom
Post Number: 3325
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, July 7, 2005 - 10:46 am: | |
Maybe it does take more energy to recycle, but energy use isn't the whole story. By pulping old newspapers instead of new trees, there are two other benefits: less need to cut down forests; and less landfill space is needed - space which is getting more scarce. |
Nonymous Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 8190
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, July 7, 2005 - 11:15 am: | |
I wonder what the effects on pollution are, comparing paper production with paper recycling. I understand that paper mills produce a lot of pollution. I know nothing of paper recyling plants.
This is another point to show that it's hard to compare real costs. We don't have precise ways to evaluate the cost of pollution, especially since the effects of it are very long lasting.
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