By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
The holidays are over, Christmas trees have come down and the last of the leftovers have been consumed, and, somewhere, a big pile of trash is all that remains. But in Orange County, it’s likely that a large portion of that trash has actually been recycled – though perhaps not as much as one might think.
Countywide, more than 80 percent of people in town and 60 percent of those in rural areas set out their blue recycling bins at least once a month. In the past few weeks, wrapping paper, wine bottles and emptied cranberry sauce cans have all gone into recycling bins and off to their respective recycling sites, while other binned items – like plastic trays and tissue paper – have been sorted out and sent to the landfill.
“The realm of plastics is generally the most confusing, and also the most frustrating for people,†said Blair Pollock, solid-waste planner with the Orange County Solid Waste Department. “It happens not only in our program, it pretty much happens in every recycling program that exists.â€
The only plastics that should go in curbside recycling bins are plastic bottles of any number with necks that are smaller than their base. Labels are OK, but all bottles should be rinsed clean.
Some residents use plastic bags to collect items in their recycling bins, but the bags aren’t recyclable and can hinder the pickup process. The curbside recycling program also doesn’t accept plastic lids, toys, trays, prescription containers or wide-mouth containers such as tubs, cups or buckets. Rigid plastics numbered 2 or 5 can be recycled at the county’s 24-hour drop-off sites (except for the Hampton Pointe location), but not in curbside bins.
Other items that residents sometimes put in their recycling bins that aren’t recyclable include ceramics, Pyrex glass, paper towels and metallic paper. When these items are placed in recycling bins, they’re later plucked out and discarded. Because the county makes money selling recyclable materials to recycling companies, it’s difficult to determine the cost of sorting those items. But overall, Pollock says he’s been told by companies that buy recyclables that “the stuff from Orange County is remarkably good.… Generally across the board, we have a very high level of compliance.â€
But while non-recyclables are placed in recycling bins, recyclable items are still put in the garbage, with about 20 percent of the garbage that went into the landfill in 2009-10 made up of recyclable items. Though that’s an improvement from about 30 percent in 2005, as Pollock said, “There’s still a lot of potential out there.â€
Items that can be recycled in curbside bins include:
• plastic bottles;
• clear, brown, green and blue glass bottles and jars;
• aerosol spray cans;
• aluminum and steel/tin food or beverage cans;
• aluminum foil and trays free of food residue;
• mixed paper, including junk mail, office paper, paper bags, paper egg cartons, cereal boxes, frozen-food boxes, juice and milk gable-top cartons, paper towel tubes and other single-layer cardboard;
• magazines and catalogs;
• newspapers;
• phonebooks; and
• flattened corrugated cardboard in pieces no larger than 3 feet by 3 feet.
All bottles, jars and cans should be rinsed, and lids should be discarded. Mixed paper, cardboard and other paper items should be placed in a separate bin from cans, jars and bottles. For a complete list of what can and cannot be recycled, visit www.co.orange.nc.us/recycling
I walk to work through a neighborhood where certainly everyone has a college education and many have advanced degrees, and nearly EVERY recycling bin contains improper items…. Styrofoam cartons and “clam-shell” food containers are the two biggest culprits…