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| Sorry, yogurt. You no longer make the cut |
Michelle Brunetti reports for the Atlantic City Press:
The Atlantic County Utilities Authority is getting pickier about which materials it will accept for recycling, in response to an ongoing crackdown by China on what types of materials it wants.
Now, only plastics #1 and #2 that have necks smaller than their bases will be accepted for recycling, said ACUA Communications Manager Sara Verillo.
“The explanation we have been given is, even though some plastics have the same number, they still may have a different chemical makeup,” said Verillo. “Bottles, jugs, and containers of a similar shape (smaller top, larger bottom) are most likely to be made of high-density polyethylene or colored HDPE, which is what manufacturers want the most.”
The authority also can no longer accept shredded paper, pizza boxes, wrapping paper or tissue paper, aerosol cans or paint containers.
China is the world’s largest importer of materials for recycling, taking 48 percent of the world’s plastic waste in 2015, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. For about two years it has been rejecting bales of materials considered contaminated by mixing of materials or food waste sticking to them.
The company that handles the processing and marketing of recyclables for ACUA, Republic Services, decided it was time to ask residents to stop recycling items China will consider contaminants, even if they are marked like other items, she said.
Plastic items that are still good for recycling include soda and water bottles, ketchup and salad dressing bottles, and detergent jugs, she said. Lids should be removed and thrown into the trash, and bottles rinsed.
“That covers a lot of the plastics we use,” Verillo said.
A smaller number of plastics — yogurt containers, for example — will not be accepted anymore, she said.
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