The Recyclist: 'Hey, can I recycle this?'

I know all the obvious things that can go into the recycling bin: junk mail, cans, bottles and the like. But many times my husband or I hold up an object -- a pizza box, a Styrofoam container, the cellophane-y bag that used to be full of potato chips, a cardboard soy milk carton, and ask: "Trash or recycling?" And, if we just can't decide, "Should we just put it in recycling just to be on the safe side?"

Which is why The Recyclist is beginning a new series of posts called, appropriately enough, "Hey, can I recycle this?"

Lisa Harris, the recycling specialist for the city of Long Beach, has kindly agreed to put up with my pestering questions -- and yours -- about curbside recycling.

First up: polystyrene, more commonly known by a trademarked name, Styrofoam.

The city of Long Beach recently began accepting clean Styrofoam containers in its recycling bins, including cups, plates, egg cartons, and those clamshell containers used for restaurant leftovers or takeout.

What does "clean" mean, you ask?

"Don't spend all day scrubbing them down," Harris said, "but you want them to be relatively clean." She advises plunging them into hot soapy water and then rinsing. 

In case you were wondering, Long Beach cannot recycle packing peanuts. Why? Because those little  suckers fall through the baling equipment. Harris says you can turn in clean polystyrene peanuts at most UPS, FedEx or Mail Boxes Etc. stores.

Please leave a comment if you have a recycling query for Harris, and I will endeavor to get your questions answered for future posts.

There is, alas, one big fat caveat: Harris can only address recycling within the city of Long Beach. Other cities have their own regulations, which are typically outlined on city sanitation department websites, like this one for the city of Los Angeles. Most also have a customer service hotline you can call to ask, "Hey, can I recycle this?"

-- Rene Lynch

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Photo credit: The polystyrene leftovers from a recent breakfast, drying on my dish rack.
 

Comments

[becky]

I live in Long Beach and my recycling bin says that I cannot recycle plastics numbered #5 and up. Is that still true, and why? It seems that half the grocery-store plastic is from that un-recyclable category. Also, many plastics do not come with a number (many non-Styrofoam takeout containers, for instance).

[TC]

The real question shouldn't be can you recycle this but what are the environmental and economic costs associated recycling this? I feel like recycling gives a false sense of security and permission to be wasteful. Just because you recycle, it does not make you eco-friendly. Recycling takes lots of energy and creates a lot of pollution - recycling some materials is so toxic we won't do it in the states and ship it off to China and other countries with looser air quality standards. Remember that with the three R's reduce and reuse come first. Buy disposable/ recyclable products as your last resort.

[Rene Lynch]

Hi Becky, thanks for your comment. The label on my recycling bin also suggests that I cannot recycle Styrofoam, but I think these labels are simply outdated and do not reflect the recent developments. To be on the safe side, I suggest you contact the city. (562.570.2876, or submit a question on-line at http://www.longbeach-recycles.org/home/talk_to_us/index.htm )

You raise an excellent issue regarding the numbering system: It doesn’t seem to be uniform at all, and that is very confusing for consumers who just want to do the right thing.

[Rene Lynch]

TC, you are absolutely right: "Just because you recycle, it does not make you eco-friendly." Recycling does indeed take energy and creates its own type of pollution. And, of course, I should not use it as a permission slip to be wasteful. Avoiding it in the first place is the best course of action -- thanks for pointing that out.

[ArchtMig]

Thanks for starting this series. I've had the same questions myself. Hopefully, you can discuss the reasons why some cities take some things and other cities do not? Is it because some cities don't have contracts with companies that accept and recycle certain materials, like styrofoam? Here in Oxnard, the city does not want styrofoam, so why Long Beach but not Oxnard?

[lil_gaucha]

The hard plastic part of zip lock bags and the caps to water bottles. I've heard both are not recycleable grade pastics.

[Nancy]

I live in Long Beach so here goes:

* Drycleaning plastic wrap?
* Clamshell packaging?
* Jar lids (baby food jars, peanut butter jars, etc.)
* Soy milk containers (those cardboard-y boxes)

My husband and I debate all of these about once a week. Sometimes we put in the recycle bin, and sometimes we don't. Help!

[Kelsey]

Rene-

Great article! I think that so many people are lost as to what products can be recycled and how to recycle them, so I'm glad you're addressing the issue. We definitely need to divert waste from the landfills!

There's actually a really great resource for LA county residents called Clean LA that is run by the LA County Public Works Department. You can visit the website at www.cleanla.com or call the hotline at 1(888)CLEAN-LA. It has a TON of great resources about recycling - how to recycle hazardous wastes & industrial waste, where your nearest recycling center is, and a calendar for events like e-waste collections. Additionally, LAPW has a free program called LACoMAX - the LA County Materials Exchange. It's essentially a craigslist for building materials, electronics, containers, and other goods.

Hope that helps anyone with recycling questions!

[Matt Bryant]

Hi - thanks for this article. What about those plastic wrappers for things like shredded or sliced cheese, sandwich baggies, plastic bread wrappers, and the plastic bags that hold cereal inside the box? Thanks!

[Rich]

For us outsiders looking for general information, perhaps you could publish a description of how the various parts of the Long Beach trash cycle are handled. Is garbage burned, or does it go to a landfill? Is all the reycling material handled from beginning to end in one facility, or does it get sorted and sent other places? Who buys the end product, and how is it packaged for them? How do they get it delivered? Educate us even if your specifics aren't like what we do elsewhere...

[Liz]

I so appreciate this series! I live in Long Beach and have been looking for a really detailed list of recyclables...

How about plastic bags? (Grocery store bags? Produce bags? Bread bags? Cereal insert bags? Ziploc bags?)

And parchment paper? Butcher paper? Wax paper?

Also, is there any particular way I should be adding recyclables to my collection cart? (Do I need to group things by type? Should newspapers be bound? Is it okay to put recyclables into the bin in paper or plastic bags or should I be adding things loose?)

[Daniel]

Take a tour of your waste haulers recycling facility. You will see that Styrofoam and plastic bags do not get recycled at all. The so called recycled product is not worth the time and money for these waste haulers, it gets dumped in landfills every day. California Cities need to continue bans on polystyrene and plastic carry-out bags.

[Phillip]

Wine corks?

[Lisa]

Here's a radical idea: when you go out to eat or go to a restaurant for take-out, bring your own reusable take-out container with you for the restaurant to use.

Glass is best and there are some great lightweight metal take-out containers with lids. Even bringing your own foil and plastic bag can help. Or ask the restaurant to use foil vs. Styrofoam. I've also asked restaurants to use more environmentally friendly recycled paper take out containers...yes, they're available. I think it's better to avoid Styrofoam all together.

[Ken_D]

Great blog/column idea here; thanks to you and the Times for doing it.

I’m in San Diego, so don’t know if it’s different up in my hometown of Long Beach, but when I asked a City of San Diego waste management official about what to do with questionable items, her advice was to go ahead and put them in the recycling bin. The reasoning being that if it’s put in the recycle bin and it’s recyclable, it will be recycled; if not, it will be pulled and moved to the trash. (There’s already staff and equipment dedicated to looking for and pulling out nonrecycleable items.) But if a questionable item is put in the trash bin, it has no chance to be recycled.

Also, what you said about not letting recycling be a license to just continue being wasteful is so true. Best bet for those wanting to reduce their waste is to look carefully at the line “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Follow that advice in that order. First, think seriously about if you need something or if there’s a different, less wasteful way to handle it. If you do need the item and get it, think of ways it might be reused or repurposed before just throwing it away. Finally, if it’s really done and not reuseable, look for the option to recycle before just discarding into the trash.

One commenter brought up the question of resealable plastic bags (a la Ziploc). I’ve greatly reduced my use of those by using washable, reuseable Tupperware-type containers instead. I have them around anyway for leftovers meals. Now I also use them for cut vegetables, cheese, even cooked meat…where I used to put those kinds of things into plastic zip closure bags that I’d throw in the trash after one, short-term use. Other than size restrictions, I’d be hard-pressed to think of anything that can go into a single-use plastic storage bag that can’t instead be stored in a washable, reuseable container.

My own experience is that reducing waste and recycling more isn’t hard or expensive, but it does require a little effort (just a little) in stopping to think and change from the way we have been kind of programmed and have been doing things in the past. If you want to do this, don’t worry about going 100% right away. If you want to go 100%, great, but bear in mind that every step and any step you may take is a positive one.

[Ken_D]

My comment mentioned using resealable containers instead of reasealable throw away plastic bags and I just noticed that a previous Recyclist post covered this. I hadn't seen that post before I commented; apologies for covering what has already been covered. Duh.

[Rene Lynch]

Thanks so much for the comments everyone! I am grateful for the feedback and the chance to learn from your experiences.

Let's get to the specifics: Matt, Liz, Phillip, lil_gaucha and Nancy -- great questions. I will ask about those items and whether they can be recycled, and let you know in a future post.

Lisa, that is a terrific suggestion -- you generally know in advance when you are going to a restaurant where you are likely to get leftovers. Bringing a container, a slip of foil, or a zip-top plastic bag that you can wash and reuse isn't all that difficult.

Daniel, Rich and ArchtMig: Are you sure you aren't newspaper assignment editors in disguise? Those are great ideas for stories. How DO they actually recycle that stuff?!?!? Exactly what is involved?

And finally, kudos to Ken. I love that you point out that the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle" should be followed in THAT order. I need to keep reminding myself of that until it becomes second nature.

Thanks again, rene.

[Jim]

Over the years, the City of Long Beach has added additional materials that are accepted for recycling in the purple containers. For an up-to-date listing, visit www.longbeach-recycles.org. (The yellow stickers are outdated)

[John Shegerian]

Hi Recyclist,

You should have your readers check out www.1-800-RECYCLING.COM.

[Baffled Observer]

My question is, what about items that can be recycled but will require considerable amounts of water to clean them--for example, a glass bottle that formerly contained olive oil? Is recycling a glass bottle worth the water, the energy to heat the water, and the detergent to clean the bottle?

[e werb]

Rene - have you tried to Compost? That's the heaviest wetest part...

Regarding recycling/recyclability -- it is all just intent until materials are processed, sold and then actually remanufactured. "Saving" landfill space is a misnomer since there is always space somewhere, it's really the saving of the marginal cost of disposing that item...the real prize is recognizing embodied energy savings and life cycle impact avoidance -- but that is harder to put in a slogan.

to borrow from the marines, (for materials in doubt) -- recycle them all and let the sorters sort them out -- in the case of market fluctuations or non-recyclability, consider it a scenic ride to the landfill.

[Kristin Collins]

I have heard about keeping items that I plan to recycle clean, but now that I live in a building that has a dumpster I worry that nothing is really able to get recycled because the organic material gets all over paper, plastic, and other recyclable things. Can you help clear up my possible misunderstanding about the dumpster before I start to cause a big stink and insist on separating our garbage and recycling. Thank you!