Recycling: where's it going?

[tulsa_fan]

OK, so now I'm confused again.  Am I suposed to take lids off plastics but its OK to keep them on glass? 

[DTowner]

I'm still trying to understand the thought process behind the decision to distribute exclusively ginormous recylcing carts in a city that had a 10% recycling participation under the old system.  Therefore, I don't have time to figure out whether or not to remove lids from my recyled items.

[RecycleMichael]

I'm still trying to understand the thought process behind the decision to distribute exclusively ginormous recycling carts...

That was discussed today in a TARE planning committee meeting. I expect a TulsaWorld story tomorrow.

[Townsend]

About those large recycle bins, the TV people on KOTV told me a resident has recently chopped his up and placed it in his trash to be picked up.

[Conan71]

Channel 6 reported this morning one customer cut up his new recycling bin and put it in his trash container.

[Townsend]

Channel 6 reported this morning one customer cut up his new recycling bin and put it in his trash container.

24 second donkey kicking.

[Hoss]

24 second donkey kicking.

Guessing he'll get a nice bill from the city.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

[tulsa_fan]

That was discussed today in a TARE planning committee meeting. I expect a TulsaWorld story tomorrow.

Not all of us read the Tulsa World . . . cliff notes version?

[Gaspar]

Channel 6 reported this morning one customer cut up his new recycling bin and put it in his trash container.

You could do the opposite. 

[shadows]

The TW reports in Friday's paper, after a beginning recycling it may gross 400 tons weekly. This amount of recycling materials will require an enormous large building to store and work in.  Now the next blow will be the increase charge for picking up the recycling material by the new trash contractors.

But if AA leaves, the city will have some empty buildings already stocked with recyclable machines.   It is a win win for the city.         

[Townsend]

The TW reports in Friday's paper, after a beginning recycling it may gross 400 tons weekly. This amount of recycling materials will require an enormous large building to store and work in.  Now the next blow will be the increase charge for picking up the recycling material by the new trash contractors.

But if AA leaves, the city will have some empty buildings already stocked with recyclable machines.   It is a win win for the city.         

There you go.  You fixed it.

[TheTed]

But how many tons of these recyclables collected are actually recycled? If the answer is all, then why doesn't the MET accept all the stuff at all the locations?

Take your corrugated cardboard here.
Take your cereal boxes there.
Take your deli-style plastic containers to some other city.
Separate everything into 17 different containers.
I still haven't figured out why the met workers deny my plastic pill bottles. They're #1 or 2 with a neck.

Etc, etc, etc.

[RecycleMichael]

I appreciate you recycling.

The M.e.t. has offered recycling in the Metro area for almost twenty years. We have done some things very well for these many years, but haven't been able to recycle everything that everybody wants to recycle for many reasons.

We also only accept things that we know are going to be recycled into new products. Many communities accept items like odd plastics just because they believe it is easier to take them rather than educate the masses. They stockpile or throw away a measurable amount of refuse in the recycling trucks. The M.e.t. doesn't.

The M.e.t. is also limited by our business plan. We have centers in parking lots without fences and are open 24 hours a day. That makes it difficult to accept cardboard boxes from citizens that won't break down the box. We are also limited because of our workforce. We have 120 employees with disabilities and I can't easily distribute box knives to them.

The city carts take a large amount of items and the M.e.t. collects other things like batteries, cooking oil, motor oil, and recently in pilot programs at our Sheridan location plastic grocery bags and electronic waste like computers, stereos, cell phones.

I am sorry that you expect one stop shopping from us. We are a non-profit that begs for money from local governments and local businesses in order to create jobs for hard to employ people.

Your sentiments are not unique. I have people mad at me all the time because we can't meet their expectations. Just because we were the only ones doing anything for years doesn't mean we should be expected to do everything for everybody.

We do publish a directory of every recycling business in the region to help local recycling businesses. A link is found here:

http://metrecycle.com/recycling/d/   

[Conan71]

I appreciate you recycling.

The M.e.t. has offered recycling in the Metro area for almost twenty years. We have done some things very well for these many years, but haven't been able to recycle everything that everybody wants to recycle for many reasons.

We also only accept things that we know are going to be recycled into new products. Many communities accept items like odd plastics just because they believe it is easier to take them rather than educate the masses. They stockpile or throw away a measurable amount of refuse in the recycling trucks. The M.e.t. doesn't.

The M.e.t. is also limited by our business plan. We have centers in parking lots without fences and are open 24 hours a day. That makes it difficult to accept cardboard boxes from citizens that won't break down the box. We are also limited because of our workforce. We have 120 employees with disabilities and I can't easily distribute box knives to them.

The city carts take a large amount of items and the M.e.t. collects other things like batteries, cooking oil, motor oil, and recently in pilot programs at our Sheridan location plastic grocery bags and electronic waste like computers, stereos, cell phones.

I am sorry that you expect one stop shopping from us. We are a non-profit that begs for money from local governments and local businesses in order to create jobs for hard to employ people.

Your sentiments are not unique. I have people mad at me all the time because we can't meet their expectations. Just because we were the only ones doing anything for years doesn't mean we should be expected to do everything for everybody.

We do publish a directory of every recycling business in the region to help local recycling businesses. A link is found here:

http://metrecycle.com/recycling/d/   

Come on, quit being such a nice guy.  Can't you for once just say: "STUFF IT!"?

[TheTed]

I appreciate you recycling.

The M.e.t. has offered recycling in the Metro area for almost twenty years. We have done some things very well for these many years, but haven't been able to recycle everything that everybody wants to recycle for many reasons.

We also only accept things that we know are going to be recycled into new products. Many communities accept items like odd plastics just because they believe it is easier to take them rather than educate the masses. They stockpile or throw away a measurable amount of refuse in the recycling trucks. The M.e.t. doesn't.

The M.e.t. is also limited by our business plan. We have centers in parking lots without fences and are open 24 hours a day. That makes it difficult to accept cardboard boxes from citizens that won't break down the box. We are also limited because of our workforce. We have 120 employees with disabilities and I can't easily distribute box knives to them.

The city carts take a large amount of items and the M.e.t. collects other things like batteries, cooking oil, motor oil, and recently in pilot programs at our Sheridan location plastic grocery bags and electronic waste like computers, stereos, cell phones.

I am sorry that you expect one stop shopping from us. We are a non-profit that begs for money from local governments and local businesses in order to create jobs for hard to employ people.

Your sentiments are not unique. I have people mad at me all the time because we can't meet their expectations. Just because we were the only ones doing anything for years doesn't mean we should be expected to do everything for everybody.

We do publish a directory of every recycling business in the region to help local recycling businesses. A link is found here:

http://metrecycle.com/recycling/d/   

I appreciate what you're doing. And I appreciate your response.

But as we see with curbside recycling, the easier you make it to recycle, the more people do it. Right now it's extremely difficult to recycle everything for those of us who don't live in single-family dwellings. It involves going to 4-6 different places on a regular basis and stockpiling all the stuff that can't be recycled here. That difficulty has to be limiting potential recycling in this city.

Has there been any talk of partnering with the city on dropoff locations to accept more stuff? I know our (new and improved) curbside service is new, but I think most cities with more mature curbside programs offer a drop-off component for those who don't live in single-family dwellings.