Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Hitting the blue recycling bin
We live in a county in which between 60 and 72 percent of our municipal solid waste is recycled.
“When in doubt, throw it out,” she said. It was the last thing I expected to hear from Nancy Fromnick, Chester County Recycling Coordinator.
We live in a special county that sets records for recycling; for the last six years between 60 and 72 percent of our municipal solid waste was recycled. The state is working to get other counties to achieve a 35 percent recycling rate.
Fromnick said that achieving zero trash is impossible since some things are just destined to hit the landfill until a technology can develop that helps make those items into something new.
“Until recently, our trash bill has been the smallest bill we pay,” Fromick said, during an interview at her office at the Lanchester Landfill. “Recycling costs have gone up because people have been contaminating the recycling with trash.”
Education is key. Most recyclables can be sold but they can’t be sold if contaminated with nonrecyclables.
“You can’t just make it happen because you want it to happen,” she said about materials that can’t be recycled. “It’s better to make the mistake of throwing something away than putting trash in with recycling.
“Most people are good and want to do the right thing but they need to be told what to do.”
Recyclers should know to keep it clean and for officials to tell the truth. She said that no Chester County drinking straws end up in the Atlantic Ocean. They go to one of two county landfills.
“Some are concerned about the straw but what about the lid and the cup?” she asked.
Fromnick supports using reusable supermarket bags and containers made from recycled plastic bottles.
Reuse the bags you get at the store for other purposes such as trash liners. And every supermarket in the county has a container at the door to collect plastic bags for recycling.
Fromnick noted that when three California towns banned plastic bags, sales of bags went up to partially fill the void for bags needed for kitchen, bath, animal and diaper waste.
Plastic lumber is a big industry that has been created from bags. When mixed with saw dust, plastic bags are recycled to make decks, benches and fences.
“You have to find a company to invest millions and millions of dollars in order to find a need for that product so it can be recycled,” she said. “If companies have a need for plastic bags, why ban them?”
Reuse your lunch container and use a sponge instead of paper towels. Use a plastic pot scrubber rather than steel wool pads that have to be thrown away.
And we should buy smart.
“Buy products made from recyclables,” she said. “If you don’t buy recyclables the system falls apart and nobody wants the stuff.
“People are buying re-
cycled products today that they don’t even know were made from recyclable material because technology has improved tremendously.”
So what can be tossed into the blue bin?
New to the list are milk, juice, broth, soup and other food and beverage containers. Clean and rinsed food and drink bottles are recyclable and the lids and labels don’t need to be removed.
That newspaper you are reading is valuable in more ways than one and goes into the blue bin. Recycle mixed paper including cardboard, paper
bags, magazines, all mail, phone books, home and office school paper, paperback books, paper egg cartons, clean pizza boxes and cereal, cake and cracker boxes.
Rinsed metal is okay, including aerosol cans, as is aluminum, including pie plates and clean foil.
Check the labeling for plastics, #1 through #7 plastic containers are fine if the caps are removed and please no styrofoam, foam or polystrene.
Fromnick said she doesn’t want soda, she wants only the empty container—you can toss the cap.
The landfill accepts many materials for recycling that you can’t recycle at home. Used oil, oil filters televisions, radios
phones, compost, clothing, including shoes, eyeglasses and batteries don’t go in the blue bin.
Items not accepted for home recycling include, light bulbs, plate and window glass, crystal drinking glasses, ceramic cups and plates, flower pots and mirrors. Oven ware, paint cans, oil cans and bottles, food wrappers, plastic bags, Tyvek plastic envelopes, towels, tissues, napkins and metallic wrapping should go into the green trash bin.
Since 1991, Fromnick has been working with recycling, the first four years as an educator. She visits groups and lectures about recycling.
“I love my job because I learn something every day,” she said. “Everything you see around you, will someday have to be thrown away, reused or recycled into a new product.
“As a result, I have to learn about so many other industries and opportunities. It’s not just bottles and cans.”
So when in doubt—concentrate on the easy stuff, the low hanging fruit—and toss the rest,” Fromnick repeated several times.
And, I’ll see you at the supermarket next time I recycle the bags my newspapers arrive in. Fromnick isn’t the only one learning something new.