Remember how single stream collection was going to provide cheaper, more convenient recycling? I encourage citizens to look beyond the thin “green” veil of single stream.
There might be more money to pay the recycling truck drivers if the recyclables had not been trashed with single stream. Single stream mixes different type recyclables, (newspaper, junk mail, metal, plastics, and sometimes glass) in a single compartment truck. It was sold to the public as a cheaper way to recycle. It is an expensive mess.
Major garbage haulers used single stream as a hook to regain market share lost to clean, sorted, recycling programs. With curbside single stream, transparency evaporated. Who knows where your recyclables really end up?
We can do better! Pass recycling transparency ordinances so citizens can see the single stream recyclables being dumped, in real time. See what workers are being exposed to and why communities are not getting top dollar for their recyclables.
Turn drop off centers into nice, clean, park-like, family-friendly, educational centers that promote reduction, reuse, repair, restoration, as well as clean, sorted recycling. Clean up your recycling program by returning to sorted recycling, and get paid more for your recyclables.
Louise Mann
Signal Mountain