[MCN] MT/Bozeman recycling

[Kylie Paul]

This is interesting info from the Bozeman equivalent of this listserv...

Dear Bozone Community,    I’d like to introduce myself as the new Outreach Educator for the Gallatin Solid Waste Management District (GSWMD) and address some concerns regarding the new changes being made to recycling collection throughout the county.  Basically, we have switched from accepting Plastics #1-7 to only Plastics #1 & #2. Please read more below to learn why this decision was made and our current options for reducing plastic waste. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or email me at 406.582.2493 and Robert.Pudner at gallatin.mt.gov

    Thank you,    Rob Pudner, Outreach Educator Gallatin Solid Waste Management District P.O. Box 461 Three Forks, MT 59752 406.582.2493      Overview of the program: For many years we’ve been accepting plastics #1-7, paper, cardboard, and aluminum/steel cans at all 17 county recycling drop-off sites. These sites offer free recycling collection, subsidized by our local landfill tipping fees. The county pays a contractor to accept these materials and manage them (sorting, baling, shipping to market). We face a variety of challenges in this region, including our distance to market and low volume of materials due to our small population, but we’ve worked hard to strengthen the program and divert as much material from the landfill as we can. Overall, we have grown the program and increased our diversion rate every year.    Changes in the market: Most plastics are shipped to mills overseas where there is a market for these materials. However, recent changes to import regulations in these countries have destroyed the demand for plastics #3-7 from the US. There is currently no outlet for these materials and there hasn’t been for quite some time. We’ve been accepting #3-7 with the hope that the market would provide an outlet in the future, but we’ve reached a point where it just isn’t going to happen in the near future.    What is happening to #3-7? These plastics have been landfilled due to the lack of a market outlet. Whether we put them in our own landfill or ship them to a sorting facility on the coast, they end up as trash. We’ve been shipping bales of combined #1-7 plastics to the coast where they were sorted, #3-7 was landfilled, and #1 & #2 were sent to market overseas. This reduced the value of our plastics to the point where shipping expenses outweighed any money received for the material.    Reducing our carbon footprint & saving money: We’ve decided it is more responsible to dispose of plastic #3-7 in our own local landfill rather than use fossil fuels and county money to ship this waste only to be buried in someone else’s landfill. If it is going in the trash anyway, why ship it hundreds of miles first? Additionally, a more uniform bale of #1 or #2 plastic will see an increase in value of approximately $100 or more per ton. Historically, we’ve recycled around 240 tons of #1 & #2 each year, so there will be an increase in value to our recycling system of $24,000 each year. This increased financial value is not the only factor in our decision for the change, but it will certainly contribute to the viability of our recycling program.    How much extra space in the landfill will #3-7 use? Not much. Historically, we’re collecting only 300 tons of #1-7 plastic throughout the county in an entire year. Approximately 80% of that is #1 &#2 and 20% is #3-7. The amount of plastic waste we expect to add to the landfill is equal to 60 tons, or 20% of what we typically receive as trash at the landfill in one November day, spread throughout an entire year. At the same rate, we’ll add only 600 tons over the course of the next 10 years. This is equal to the amount of trash landfilled on one busy summer day.    Are other cities/states recycling #3-7? Not likely. This is not just a Gallatin County or Montana issue – it is an issue resulting from other nations’ import policies and markets. Everyone we’ve talked to in other states is facing the same problem and domestic mills just haven’t adjusted to accept this material. These plastics are bound for the landfill no matter how much we don’t want to bury them (and believe me, we don’t like burying plastic).

What about single stream programs? There are several single stream or all-in-one curbside collection programs that will not be affected by this change. Materials from these curbside bins are baled together and sent to large processors as-is and sorted upon arrival. Plastics #3-7 received through these programs are then managed as trash.    What can we do to bury less plastic? There’s a lot we can do. We can make purchasing decisions that bring less plastic packaging home from the store: Buy in bulk, choose recyclable/reusable packaging, buy larger size containers to reduce the packaging to product ratio, avoid single-use containers, wash & reuse whenever possible. If recyclable options are not available, tell the store manager that you would prefer products with more responsible packaging options.   
 
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