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"A Kick in the Glass"

Written by Colin Cogle.
Edited by the Sierra Club Connecticut Chapter.

Originally published in the November 2018 issue of "The Quinnehtukqut":
 [https://ctsierraclub.wixsite.com/sierraclub-ct/copy-of-newsletter]

ABSTRACT
Single-stream recycling is great, but it has downsides.
Fortunately,there are steps you can take to help.


In 2012, the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority (HRRA), which represents
eleven towns in western Connecticut, made the switch to single-stream recycling
(Hutson).  That allows all recyclable materials to be mixed together in a single
bin that is collected curbside or brought to a recycling center.  Thus, instead
of the homeowner sorting their recyclable waste prior to collection or drop-off,
everything is sent as-is to a materials recovery facility (MRF), where machine-
ry, cameras, and humans handle the onus of separation:  they sort paper, card-
board, cans, plastics #1 through #7, glass, metal, e-waste (where accepted), and
other materials so that a more-or-less pure pile of raw material can be shipped
to its final destination.

PROBLEMS WITH MATERIAL COLLECTIONS
Single-stream recycling, however, has a downside.  Its convenience leads many
people to try to be “green knights” and recycle dirty, mixed, or other items
that may contaminate an MRF’s final products;  for example, even a lone greasy
pizza box or dirty glass jar could sully an otherwise acceptable pallet of the
collected product.  Susan V. Collins, director of the nonprofit Container Recy-
cling Institute, said in a 2015 interview with NPR (LaCapra), what single-stream
wins in volume, it sacrifices in quality. "As we often say, you can't unscramble
an egg."  One-fourth of material collected by recycling facilities has to be
trashed.

Under China’s Green Fence and National Sword policies (of 2013 and 2017, respec-
tively), the once-bountiful import of recycled materials has been severely cur-
tailed, and those materials that do pass their customs must be more pure than
before;  minutes from the August 30, 2018 HRRA meeting say that recycled glass
exported to China must be at least 99.5% pure. That leaves little room for glue,
labels, caps and lids, and those little bits of ketchup that would have been
rinsed out of the bottle if the consumer hadn't been in such a rush to get the
kids off to school that morning.  John Decker of Oak Ridge Waste and Recycling
said succinctly during the HRRA’s September 24, 2018 meeting: "[T]he ability to
sell glass is gone. […]  Most of the glass today, unfortunately, because it is
so dirty and contaminated, has to be disposed of."

PREPARING YOUR GLASS FOR RECYCLING
Before you try to recycle glass (or anything), do your best to make sure that
it’s clean, the label has been removed, and the plastic or metal cap or lid has
been separated.  Afterwards, place borosilicate glass (Pyrex) in the trash: the
changes it’s undergone to withstand high temperatures remain after being melted,
making it non-recyclable by most facilities. Finally, glass tends to retain its
color after recycling, so sort by color if asked.

Once separated and finely crushed at the MRF, the resulting cullet can be used
to make things such as: fiberglass, flux for brick manufacture, Astroturf, arti-
ficial sand, countertops, water filtration media, abrasives, a substitute for
pea gravel or crushed rock, landscaping or construction fill, or — of course —
new glass.

Humans have been using glass for over six millennia.  Let’s work together and
make sure the same molecules are used for another six.

=== WORKS CITED ===
Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority.  "Regular Meeting."  24 Sep.
  2018,  https://hrra.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/09-24-18notes.pdf
Hutson, Nanci.  “Single-Stream Reduces Recycling Hassles” [Danbury, CT].
  NewsTimes, 20 Apr. 2012, newstimes.com/local/article/Single-stream-
  reduces-recycling-hassles-3495664.php.
LaCapra, Veronique.  “With ‘Single-Stream’ Recycling, Convenience Comes
  At A Cost.”  NPR, National Public Radio, 31 Mar. 2015, www.npr.org/
  2015/03/31/396319000/with-single-stream-recycling-convenience-comes-
  at-a-cost.

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