Think of the single-serving product containers you buy and toss every single day – single serving yogurt cups, “to go” containers, Styrofoam coffee cups, plastic containers of foods for your kids’ lunches, light weight plastic cups of puddings, apple sauce. The list goes on and on.
Single-use plastics that once were acceptable recyclables when the U.S. shipped everything to China, are no longer accepted in most cities. Food contamination rates are extremely high in these products that only have very limited recycling value. These by-products of our throw-away society are now more and more landing in landfills.
The problem is: “We are at the top of the trash heap. Plastic is everywhere; we have a world glut of it and recycling is not going to solve this,” says Kreigh Hampel, recycling coordinator for the City of Burbank, CA, in a Los Angeles Times article available online.
So what? You might ask. Well… a critical concern about plastic waste is its potential for pollution, whether the plastic is littered across the landscape or buried in landfills or degrading in our oceans and being ingested by marine life (that we then consume). We now know plastics decompose into tiny particles, some smaller than the width of a human hair, known as microplastics.
Microplastics are everywhere – some studies show they are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Meanwhile, because we continue to buy plastics, plastic consumption continues to climb, with global plastic production expected to triple by 2050, according to the World Economic Forum.
Locally and regionally, as a part of the Rio Grande Recycling Corridor, the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) is leading the charge in recycling reform, asking customers to reflect and realize that single-serving plastics are not a path forward.
“We can try to eliminate straws from our drinks, but a bigger shift needs to start by us thinking long-term and voting with dollars. We should be buying from companies who operate with the environment in mind,” explains Patrick Peck, SCSWA director.
In Las Cruces, recycling efforts will continue to be focused on encouraging high quality recyclables only and avoiding contamination in our recyclables. For material to be reused, the items that go into our blue bins must be clean and dry – free of food contamination that can destroy the possibility of recycling.
“Our education efforts focus on continually reminding customers of the best ways to divert material from the landfill. We remind everyone constantly: remember to 1) Recycle Right and 2) think about what you buy,” says Miguel Fernandez, SCSWA Recycling Services Administrator.
“Instead of opting for plastic bags, bring your own reusable bags to the store,” he continued. “Instead of using disposable forks while camping, bring a metal set that you rinse in a bucket. Once the demand shifts, the reality will be that recycling will make use of the very basic elements that can perpetually be remade into other things.”
Green Connections is submitted by the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) managing solid waste, recyclables, and working to stop illegal dumping for residents and businesses throughout Doña Ana County. Contact the SCSWA at (575) 528-3800 or visit www.SCSWA.net.