By Megan Hammaker
Darke Co. Parks
When I drive down the streets of Greenville on trash pick-up day, I am always delighted to see just how many people utilize Rumpke’s curbside recycling program. However, recycling can be very tricky and sometimes things end up in the curbside bin that Rumpke actually doesn’t accept.
Recycling can be so confusing! Part of the reason for the confusion may be because there are 7 different categories of plastic, each with a designated number; PET (1), HDPE (2), PVC (3), LDPE (4), PP (5), PS (6), and “other”(7). Rumpke takes a few different types of plastic items, which include bottles and jugs, tubs, and fast food beverage cups (straw removed). Each of these are usually made of PET (1), HDPE (2), or PP (5). However, throwing stuff into your curbside bin based on what category of plastic it is, isn’t a fool proof way of making sure you’re recycling correctly. In order for Rumpke to accept certain items and then sort, bale, and export them, there has to be enough of a demand for these materials so that Rumpke makes a profit. What they accept may change over time as they find new buyers. It’s always best to check Rumpke’s webpage to stay up to date with what items they accept.
After reading up about recycling on Rumpke’s webpage, you’ll quickly find that there are A LOT of plastics that they don’t accept in the curbside bin at all. However, there are a few other ways to recycle some of these items. Many supermarkets, such as Kroger and Walmart, will have store drop-off bins that you can easily utilize. These drop off bins accept grocery and produce bags, bread bags, plastic stretch wraps, newspaper bags, plastic mailers (like the ones from Amazon), wraps around paper products (paper towels, diapers, etc.) and cereal bags. You can find more information about store drop off recycling at how2recycle.info .
Once you’ve figured out plastic recycling, the rest is easy! Glass is infinitely recyclable and you can place jars and bottles in the curbside bin. Metal cans (aluminum, steel, and aerosol), paper (newspaper, magazines, cardboard, etc), and cardboard food cartons can all be recycled curbside as well. For items you’re still unsure about, always check with Darke County Solid Waste. They have many ongoing recycling initiatives including battery recycling, cap collection, and Christmas light recycling. Shawnee Prairie Preserve Nature Center and Bish Discovery Center both serve as drop off collection sites for both battery recycling and cap collection. Darke County Solid Waste also hosts several one-day events including collection days for household hazardous waste, tires, electronics, and more. You can learn more about all of these programs at www.co.darke.oh.us/solidwaste. They also have a really comprehensive guide on their webpage that lists drop off sites for various other items (motor oil, car batteries, yard waste, etc).
Another thing you can do to simplify the whole process is by reducing the amount of plastic waste that you generate in the first place. There are many different options out there for reusable shopping bags. I have found the best way not to forget them the next time you go shopping is to store them in the trunk of your car and place them there after you unload your groceries each time. You can also purchase a Brita filter and a cute reusable water bottle (or 10 if you’re like me) and stop buying bottled water. There are all kinds of eco-friendly swaps you can make to reduce your plastic waste footprint.
According to the EPA, landfills received 27 million tons of plastic, 7.6 million tons of glass, 2.7 million tons of aluminum, and 10.5 million tons of steel in 2018. So much of this material could be recycled and reused! Each time we make new material, we use more fossil fuels in the process, which creates more carbon dioxide (CO2). You may not think something like the simple act of tossing your soda can in the recycling bin instead of the trash would have much of an impact, but with the average American drinking roughly 480 cans of soda yearly, that can add up! If we all adopt simple practices such as recycling and swapping out one-use plastics, it can make a difference.
We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly. — Anne Marie Bonneau.
