talk
REALITIES OF RECYCLING HOW WE TREAT OUR TRASH MATTERS BY CAROLINE CABRAL
IF YOU’RE LIKE MOST OF US IN THE ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS BAY AREA, YOU LOOK AT A PLASTIC MILK JUG AND TOSS IT IN THE BLUE BIN, AND HOPE IT GETS RECYCLED. THE QUESTION IS DOES IT DO ANY GOOD? OR DO THESE NOBLE EFFORTS TO RECYCLE PLASTIC ACTUALLY RESULT IN A LESS GREEN LIFE?
M
any of us are wildly uninformed about what and how to recycle. According to one estimate, 25 percent of the objects Americans put into recycling bins belong in landfill garbage bins. This ranges from recyclables that are too dirty to process—mayonnaise jars still coated—to items that shouldn’t be there in the first place, like plastic bags. According to Republic Services, our local waste collection company, last year Walnut Creek residents recycled and composted 21,145 tons of material in the blue and green carts and added 10,043 tons to the landfillable black carts. What’s unclear is the percentage of the “recyclable” garbage that ended up recycled. Although this data is not available, staff at Contra Costa County’s Department of Conservation & Development tell us, “the amount of ‘contamination’ in curbside recycling bins certainly varies over time and by area, but in general, Walnut Creek and Central Contra Costa are pretty clean.” ➤
winter 2020 / walnut creek
19
