Getting recycling right is an important way to hold down the cost of residential refuse and recycling charges. Some recycling contaminants, such as film plastic, can wrap around and jam sorting equipment.
A study led by an Ohio State University professor says removing contaminants from curbside recyclables at sorting centers costs “millions of dollars per year in operational costs.” She claims a moderately sized sorting center “can lose $10,000 for every 10 minutes it is shut down due to contaminants.”
Would residents be more likely to avoid placing film plastic in curbside recycling carts if they knew contamination could result in the cart being left at the curb, uncollected? Would residents regard a lid-flip inspection of their cart to be such an intrusion into their private lives that they would start refusing to recycle at all?
These questions are answered in a 46-page academic paper published in December 2023 by Erin McKie and Aravind Chandrasekaran, both of Ohio State University, and Sriram Venkataraman of the University of South Carolina (Paper, plastics and penalties: How audits can improve curbside recycling). In a summary of the study, published April 22, 2024 on the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business website, Professor McKie summarizes the key points, based on recycling feedback and performance data from 25,359 audits across 11,899 households and 15 recycling route: “Households that received… punitive feedback reduced their contamination severity by 59% and were 75% less likely to commit a violation in the future. Additionally, we found that household recycling participation behavior did not decrease after households received a punitive feedback mechanism.”
McKie also narrates a YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxS5F-eWm4s&t=3s) sharing her results and showing her interviews of consumers. She shows them a red solo plastic cup, a roll of paper towels, and bubble wrap packaging, and she asks, “Is this recyclable?” The consumers express uncertainty but all say “yes” to each item. As she informs them, the true answer is “no,” although the tube of the paper towels is recyclable, and plastic film can be recycled at drop off sites available in some supermarkets.
The study included some important caveats. Punitive approaches worked best in affluent areas and mostly affected what the researchers termed “aspirational recycling.” Also called “wishcycling,” “aspirational recycling” refers to items consumers doubt are recyclable but include anyway in curbside recycling carts because they hope the items – such as film plastic – might be recyclable. Perhaps those engaging in “wishcycling” also put some non-recyclable items in curbside recycling carts because doing so feels less wasteful than filling a garbage cart.
Besides film plastic causing increased labor sorting fees, other contamination can spoil commodities. For example, liquid can ruin paper, and even a little non-recyclable glass – such as mirrors, pirex, and window glass – can spoil a much larger amount of otherwise easily recyclable bottle glass, due to different melting points in the remanufacturing process.
Most local curbside contamination monitoring takes an “information only” approach, affixing an “oops tag” to carts found to have contained contaminants. However, the city of Port Hueneme sets a standard for the type of customer feedback these researchers say is most effective. Like the trucks operating in many jurisdictions, Port Hueneme’s trucks include a camera aimed at each load as it enters the recycling truck “hopper.” When contamination is spotted, the driver sends a photo of the load and a photo of the address to a dispatch office.
The city has two levels of penalties for contamination. For loads already dumped, the fine is $34.98. If instead, the driver spots the contamination before dumping the load, collection is simply refused, and the customer is emailed a notice. The customer then may remove the contaminants and re-schedule collection for a fee of $17.14, according to Public Works Program Manager Rick Cervantes. Contaminants caught before dumping are usually sticking out of recycling carts through propped-open lids, including items such as carpet, yard waste, wood, or a crib mattress. Between one and four penalties are assessed on a typical day in this city of 2,688 single family detached homes and thousands of additional units with curbside cart service, he said.
You can check your refuse collector’s website to determine which items belong in your curbside recycling cart. Not all types of plastics accepted in the programs are sorted out for recycling all the time, but the lists show the items your contracted collector is prepared to sort for recycling.
Recycling contamination study:
https://fisher.osu.edu/news/paper-plastics-and-penalties-how-audits-can-improve-curbside-recycling
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4660759
David Goldstein
David Goldstein, an Environmental Resource Analyst with the Ventura County Public Works Agency, may be reached at david.goldstein@ventura.org or (805) 658-4312
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The opinions expressed here by David Goldstein and other columnists are their own, not those of Bioplasticsnews.com
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