We know a lady who recycles almost everything. Little plastic medicine bottles. Pizza boxes. The kitchen waste either goes to the chickens or the compost pile. Heaven love her, Earth love her.
She lives in Pulaski County and, much to her delight, her house recently got a green and yellow recycling bin. No more weekly trips to the next town's recycling center!
Imagine her surprise when she found out she was doing it wrong.
The paper said this week that about 38 percent of the things we're putting in the recycling bins are going to the dump. Folks are throwing in yard waste, clothing, engines and rifles. (Rifles?!?!) If folks throw in a bunch of dirty diapers and leftover casserole on top of the plastic two-liter bottles, the folks at the recycling center have to ship it all off to the dump. Even the recyclable stuff.
Now to the surprise: Some folks--well-meaning folks--have been separating plastics and newspapers and glass into separate black trash bags. The better to make it "easier" for the workers across town.
Instead, those black trash bags . . . go to the dump.
"They think they're serving it to you on a platter," said County Judge Barry Hyde. But they're wrong. Anything in black trash bags can't be processed.
UALR also conducted a survey, asking folks what they thought was correct form.
About 70 percent thought plastic grocery bags from Wal-Mart and Kroger's were recyclable. They're not.
Most people thought greasy pizza boxes, with cheese still stuck to the top, were. They're not.
It's called contamination. And sometimes the whole barrel is thrown out with the bad apple. Or bad carrot peelings.
Have questions? Waste Management or Pulaski County can help.
Just remember, no black trash bags. Even ones filled with clean milk jugs. And leave the yard waste, small engines and rifles (rifles?) out of it.
Editorial on 06/16/2017