You can't recycle everything, y'know

By Shannon Proulx

The Sandy Post, Sep 20, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

contributed photo / sandy post

You can recycle plastic bags, just not at the curb.

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Have you ever received a note on your recycle bin that says you’ve put the wrong items out for collection? There’s a reason: Many materials that many people think are recyclable aren’t, and they can actually cause problems for recycling centers.

The most common things people try to recycle that they can’t are non-bottle plastics such as foam, plastic bags and toys, said Andy Kahut, general manager of Hoodview Disposal and Recycling Inc., which handles recycling services in the Sandy area.

People know they can recycle plastic bottles, so some think they can recycle all plastic items when they can’t, said Susan Ziolko, coordinator of the Clackamas County Waste Reduction Center.

When the Hoodview recycling center tries to recycle those items, they essentially become contaminants that can latch on to good recyclables and cause them to be rejected during the recycling process, Kahut said.

“Plastic bags cause the biggest problems because they are so light and thin that they can attach to other things,” Kahut said. “The physics just don’t work with residential recycling.”

Ziolko said people assume that if recycling centers aren’t able to process certain items, they at least will pull it out and find someone who can. “But that causes us more problems,” she said.

If residents put the wrong items in their recycling containers, Hoodview will leave a note on the container asking them not to put those items in again, Kahut said.

“We don’t just leave the items in the container because we don’t have time to go through everyone’s containers and make sure they have the right stuff,” Kahut said. “So it causes us a lot of problems when the bad stuff gets mixed in with the good, and it becomes our problem to get rid of the bad stuff.”

Even though the Hoodview recycling center does not accept some things, there are ways to dispose of unwanted recyclable items.

“Just because it’s not curbside recyclable doesn’t mean it’s not recyclable (altogether),” Kahut said.

The best way to get rid of plastic bags is to take them to a local store such as Fred Meyer or Safeway. The stores provide bins at both entrances for people to drop off bags.

Check with Goodwill, Value Village or the Salvation Army to recycle used and old toys. Local packing and shipping companies sometimes will reuse packing peanuts and Styrofoam, so check there before throwing items out.

Don’t worry about paper; that’s safe to recycle. The primary sorter at the Hoodview recycling center is for paper. Kahut said more than 70 percent of what they receive is paper products such as newspapers and cardboard.

The Hoodview recycling center also provides flatbed trucks to come pick up larger items, such as dishwashers and washing machines, Kahut said. Just make sure to call in advance.

The most important thing to remember is to keep all glass items separate from everything else because the paper mills cannot deal with glass shards that get mixed in with the other stuff, Kahut said.

If you need more help getting rid of those items not recyclable at the Hoodview recycling center, call the Department of Environmental Quality’s waste reduction division at 503-557-6363.

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