Arlington County鈥檚 costs for recycling is continuing to rise after a Chinese ban last year, officials said, but most of what residents place in the recycling bin is still getting recycled.
Costs for processing recyclables have risen from $15.73 per ton to $28.62 per ton in the last six months as the value of items such as paper and plastics is plummeting, Arlington鈥檚 chief of solid waste Erik Grabowsky told ARLnow Wednesday.
Recyclables remain cheaper than trash, which costs the county $43.16 per ton, but the industry lost the primary way items get recycled.
Recycling is a $200 billion global industry with China importing as much as 70 percent 鈥� that is, until in January 2018 over pollution concerns. The loss of such a big buyer has plummeted the value of some plastics and low-grade paper, forcing many cities to nix recycling聽all together, The New York Times .
鈥淭he China ban has negatively impacted recycling commodity markets around the world. As a result, the value of the recycling material collected in the county has declined,鈥� Gabrowsky said.
Another ongoing problem for the county is glass.
Glass may seem like an easy material to reuse, but 鈥渟ingle-stream鈥� recycling systems like Arlington鈥檚 often shatter bottles. The result are mixed-up colored glass shards, which makes it difficult to separate from other recyclable materials.
颁辞耻苍迟测听辞蹿蹿颈肠颈补濒蝉 that Arlington might end glass recycling, but a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Services said Wednesday that the county 鈥渋s still studying the issue and has not made a decision on whether or not to remove glass from the recycling stream at this time.鈥�
He said Wednesday the county is sending almost all the glass collected from people鈥檚 recycling bins to landfills. (Paper and plastics are still being recycled,聽Gabrowsky said.)
The only exception is glass delivered to the county鈥檚 two drop-off centers at聽 and .
Glass from those two containers is shipped to Fairfax County, where local officials are that smashes glass into sand they hope can be used to repair roads.
Though the future of Arlington鈥檚 glass is uncertain, he said the county will 鈥渃ontinue to collect the same recyclable material list, but would ask that residents adhere strictly to the list and not place items into the recycling cart that are not recyclable like plastic bags.鈥�
More advice on recycling smart and reducing waste from DES, below:
- 鈥淏y far the best way to manage our waste is to generate less waste to begin with. Consider reusing, repairing and donating items before you dispose them.鈥�
- 鈥淢ake sure food and beverage containers are empty and free from food and other residue before you place them into the blue cart. It is a good idea to do a quick rinse to containers that held anything that can spoil.鈥�
- 鈥淲hen you recycle, include only correct materials. Leave out things like plastic bags, plastic foam cups and plates, food residue, liquids and miscellaneous garbage.鈥�
- 鈥淭o find out how to properly dispose of items, check out our 诲颈谤别肠迟辞谤测.鈥�
Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick
