Q&A: Recycling at Yorba Linda apartments

Your eco-questions answered:

Question: Do you have any sources on recycling in Orange County?  We live in an apartment [in Yorba Linda], where there isn't (apparently) recycling available. (Management says that the trash stream gets recycled separately, but I'm way skeptical.) I used to live in Seattle, and I can't get used to not recycling stuff. — Greg

Answer: Your management is actually telling the truth. The city of Yorba Linda contracts with Taormina Industries for trash and recycling services. While homeowners get 3 bins (one for yard waste, one for mixed recyclables, and one for everything else) in Yorba Linda, commercial and apartment trash all goes into one bin, which then gets sorted to fish out the recyclables.

As I mentioned before, this unsorted recycling process (a.k.a. dirty MRF-ing) tends to have lower recovery rates than pre-sorted recycling -- so pushing your local government for apartment recycling bins could still be a good idea.

In the meantime, use Earth911.org to quickly locate the recycling center nearest you.

Photos by concrete cornfields via Flickr