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Recycle your electronics and TVs at Bright Meadows Park (in the parking lot) on July 27, 9am-12pm. County residents can recycle all electronics free of charge, except TVs, which will cost $15.
Please feel free to let us know of any questions or concerns you have about recycling services. Contact links are posted at the bottom of this email.
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Are you a Wish-Cycler?
Check out the article below to learn about wish-cycling and FIND OUT if your recycling habits include any wish-cycling that could be negatively impacting your recycling efforts.
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Are you a Wish-Cycler?
Be the Best Recycler, Follow the Instructions
“I Recycle Everything.” You might think we relish those words when they come from residents. It would make sense to assume that recycling everything is what we aim for at the Dearborn County Recycling Center, but that isn’t quite what we are after because in reality, not everything is recyclable. Our goal is to provide cost-effective recycling services while striving to reach our state-mandated waste reduction goals. The most important thing residents can do to help our county reach its recycling goals is to follow the guidelines when deciding what to put in the recycling.
If everyone who said that they recycle everything meant that they recycle everything within the guidelines of our services, that would be awesome. Very often though, what people mean is they recycle everything that seems recyclable.
Putting items in your recycling because they seem recyclable or because you hate to see them go to waste is called wish-cycling. This is a new term in the waste industry that describes the well-intentioned but ineffective recycling style that many people adopt when in doubt about what to recycle. Sometimes a lack of clearly communicated guidelines is to blame for wish-cycling. When you don’t know what is recyclable it makes sense to put in all sorts of seemingly like items. The Dearborn County Recycling Center posts acceptable items on its website and shows them clearly on all drop-off containers. Sometimes wish-cycling happens because you feel badly that an item will go to waste and you are hopeful that there is chance that somehow, someway, an item will be made into something new.
Although wish-cycling happens with metal items as well as glass, the problem is most clearly seen with plastic waste. All plastics are not recyclable…we just wish they were. In Dearborn County we recycle plastic bottles and jugs. That is all that anyone really needs to know to determine whether a plastic item should be put in the recycling. All you need to ask yourself is, “what shape is this?” If the answer is, “bottle,” or “jug,” then recycle it. If you might call something a tub, container, crate or bag, then it is not recyclable. Daily we receive plastic items of all shapes and sizes that aren’t bottles and jugs.
When items that aren’t bottles or jugs are tossed into the recycling, they must be removed and landfilled. At best, nonrecyclable plastic items are a nuisance which take up valuable sorting time. At worst, they jam or brake equipment.
Although plastics are made from the same base material, petroleum, they have very different structures. This is what makes some more readily recyclable. The type of plastic used to make a water bottle is very different from the plastic used to make a bag or a yogurt tub. The numbers that can often be found on plastic items are a resin code that identifies a specific polymer. That coding system happens to be paired with what we all know as the recycling symbol and that causes lots of confusion. Resin codes aren’t useful in determining if an item can be recycled. That makes it especially important for you to forget all about those numbers and base your recycling know-how on the guidelines provided by your recycling center.
Dearborn County residents can help their recycling center reach its goal of providing cost-effective recycling options by refusing to be wish-cyclers. You can follow the guidelines for acceptable materials and remember the catchy reminder, “when in doubt, throw it out.” Contact the Dearborn County Recycling Center with your questions anytime.
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