Is This Trash? The State of Recycling in Washington DC
One sticky afternoon in mid- September I stopped in a CVS on my way to the DC Metro to get something cold to drink. My thirsty eyes were drawn to a tall aluminum can of Arizona Sweet Tea. I decided to buy it, (it was only 99cents!) assuming I would chance upon a recycling bin as I walked through the city. However, by the time I was down to the last few drops, I had passed about six bins, not one of them for recycling.
Having just lived for three years in Japan, where there are vending machines with adjacent recycling receptacles on every other backstreet, I was aghast at the lack of public recycling opportunities in DC- one of the most important cities in a country that is very concerned with global warming and petroleum consumption. I was also baffled by the recycling at my school and home- people seemed to use the big blue recycling bins as trash cans, throwing paper plates with food still on them and half-full cartons of juice. These observations led me to wonder- what is the recycling program in DC, and how effective is it?
Washington DC uses a system of “single-stream,” or “co-mingled” recycling, which eliminates tedious sorting of paper, plastics, and glass on the residential level. This means that people can throw paper, bottles, cans, and plastic into one bin and then forget about it. Recycling trucks circulate on a bi- or tri- weekly basis, collect the contents of the bins, and bring it to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) to be sorted. Then, the materials are sent off to their respective manufacturers to be made into new products.
Recycling is an economic and industrial necessity. For manufacturers, using reprocessed materials costs less than using virgin ones and it helps reduce mankind’s breakneck consumption of precious petroleum. According to a Cleantech report published in US Newswire magazine, the U.S. recycling industry employs over one million people, and because of the current rate of resource depletion, “We couldn't print a newspaper, build a car, or ship a product in a cardboard box without recycled materials.”
DC’s recycling program too is a source of labor and it has the potential of being very effective and cost- efficient. But it is floundering. In 1988, the Department of Public Works in Washington DC passed a DC Solid Waste Management and Multi-Material Recycling Act which established a goal of recycling 45% of the total municipal waste by 2004. It failed. According to the FY (fiscal year) 2007 Waste Report conducted by the DPW, Washingtonians collectively only recycle 17% of their waste, of which only 36% is recyclable. This means 19% of recyclable material is sent to the landfills; in 2007, that amounted to 23,800 tons!
So why don’t Washingtonians recycle everything they can? One reason is, of course, the lack of public receptacles. Although I lugged my empty aluminum can that one day all over DC in order to recycle it at home, I came very close to just tossing it. Most people would simply throw it away out of convenience and ignore the slight guilt nagging at their conscience. Another reason is a general lack of knowledge about the system. Many residents don’t know that they can actually recycle videotapes, bicycles, and have ink cartridges refilled. They don’t know that recycled paper is dissolved in water to make a pulp, cleaned, and filtered, and so throw away paper plates because there is some sauce smeared on it.
The DPW has made a step in public awareness by publishing brochures with tips and tricks, which can be found on their website, www.recycle.dpw.dc.gov. Now it is Washingtonians’ turn to make a step in learning how they can improve DC’s rate of recycling. There are many great web sources, such as
• http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/ (Recycle City, a site mainly for kids)
• http://www.mwcog.org/dep/gorecycle/ (A very comprehensive DC government site that gives information for recycling at home and at work.)
• www.recycle.dpw.dc.gov (The official DPW Recycling website, with contact numbers for city officials who will answer your queries within 24 hours!)
• http://www.cartridgeworldusa.com/ (Info on refilling ink cartridges)
Hopefully one day in the future, we won’t have to struggle to find a place for our empty cans and bottles on the streets of DC. That day could come sooner if the public took pains to know the DC system and took full advantage of it.
Bibliography:
“Cleantech Report: Recycling Industry Offers Recession Proof Investing.” U.S. Newswire. April 3, 2008.
[Online] retrieved from: http://www.lohas.com/articles/101185.html October 21, 2009.
Wrap: Material Change for a Better Environment, “How is it Recycled? Paper,”
[Online] Available from: http://www.recyclenow.com/why_recycling_matters/how_is_it_recycled/... retrieved October 22, 2009.
Lyons, Nancee. Public Affairs Specialist, DPW. E-mail interview. 23 Oct. 2009.
Office of Recycling. DC Department of Public Works, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2009.
.
Having just lived for three years in Japan, where there are vending machines with adjacent recycling receptacles on every other backstreet, I was aghast at the lack of public recycling opportunities in DC- one of the most important cities in a country that is very concerned with global warming and petroleum consumption. I was also baffled by the recycling at my school and home- people seemed to use the big blue recycling bins as trash cans, throwing paper plates with food still on them and half-full cartons of juice. These observations led me to wonder- what is the recycling program in DC, and how effective is it?
Washington DC uses a system of “single-stream,” or “co-mingled” recycling, which eliminates tedious sorting of paper, plastics, and glass on the residential level. This means that people can throw paper, bottles, cans, and plastic into one bin and then forget about it. Recycling trucks circulate on a bi- or tri- weekly basis, collect the contents of the bins, and bring it to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) to be sorted. Then, the materials are sent off to their respective manufacturers to be made into new products.
Recycling is an economic and industrial necessity. For manufacturers, using reprocessed materials costs less than using virgin ones and it helps reduce mankind’s breakneck consumption of precious petroleum. According to a Cleantech report published in US Newswire magazine, the U.S. recycling industry employs over one million people, and because of the current rate of resource depletion, “We couldn't print a newspaper, build a car, or ship a product in a cardboard box without recycled materials.”
DC’s recycling program too is a source of labor and it has the potential of being very effective and cost- efficient. But it is floundering. In 1988, the Department of Public Works in Washington DC passed a DC Solid Waste Management and Multi-Material Recycling Act which established a goal of recycling 45% of the total municipal waste by 2004. It failed. According to the FY (fiscal year) 2007 Waste Report conducted by the DPW, Washingtonians collectively only recycle 17% of their waste, of which only 36% is recyclable. This means 19% of recyclable material is sent to the landfills; in 2007, that amounted to 23,800 tons!
So why don’t Washingtonians recycle everything they can? One reason is, of course, the lack of public receptacles. Although I lugged my empty aluminum can that one day all over DC in order to recycle it at home, I came very close to just tossing it. Most people would simply throw it away out of convenience and ignore the slight guilt nagging at their conscience. Another reason is a general lack of knowledge about the system. Many residents don’t know that they can actually recycle videotapes, bicycles, and have ink cartridges refilled. They don’t know that recycled paper is dissolved in water to make a pulp, cleaned, and filtered, and so throw away paper plates because there is some sauce smeared on it.
The DPW has made a step in public awareness by publishing brochures with tips and tricks, which can be found on their website, www.recycle.dpw.dc.gov. Now it is Washingtonians’ turn to make a step in learning how they can improve DC’s rate of recycling. There are many great web sources, such as
• http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/ (Recycle City, a site mainly for kids)
• http://www.mwcog.org/dep/gorecycle/ (A very comprehensive DC government site that gives information for recycling at home and at work.)
• www.recycle.dpw.dc.gov (The official DPW Recycling website, with contact numbers for city officials who will answer your queries within 24 hours!)
• http://www.cartridgeworldusa.com/ (Info on refilling ink cartridges)
Hopefully one day in the future, we won’t have to struggle to find a place for our empty cans and bottles on the streets of DC. That day could come sooner if the public took pains to know the DC system and took full advantage of it.
Bibliography:
“Cleantech Report: Recycling Industry Offers Recession Proof Investing.” U.S. Newswire. April 3, 2008.
[Online] retrieved from: http://www.lohas.com/articles/101185.html October 21, 2009.
Wrap: Material Change for a Better Environment, “How is it Recycled? Paper,”
[Online] Available from: http://www.recyclenow.com/why_recycling_matters/how_is_it_recycled/... retrieved October 22, 2009.
Lyons, Nancee. Public Affairs Specialist, DPW. E-mail interview. 23 Oct. 2009.
Office of Recycling. DC Department of Public Works, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2009.
.
Tags: DC, Washington, japan, north_america, recycling, trash
Replies to This Article
-
Permalink Reply by Tina Thuermer on
-
Good job, Mary. I particularly like the way you hooked us by starting with the personal story. Personal anecdotes tend to be compelling ways to bring people into understanding a larger problem, whereas if you'd started with statistics you'd have had us yawning immediately.
-
Permalink Reply by Natasha Turk on -
You make a very important point and to be honest I am actually surprised, and disappointed that the Capital would be lacking initiative in such a vital issue. Living in the Middle East, I completely know where you are coming from, especially that they have the means to make programs like this work,they just do not put enough effort into them. Good job on finding all these statistics to back up your argument and making it clear that your community needs to really get going on this project. I think its more a lack of awareness than care that the general public has though, so maybe you should try getting them more interested and find a way to try to get more recycling bins around the city. Even if you only start in a few places, you never know where it could lead to. Anyways, good job :)
-
Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on -
I recently saw a video where a group of people conducted an experiment to test the theory that by making something into a game, more people would be encouraged to participate. They attached a motion sensor to one trash can. When garbage is thrown away into this one trash can, the sensor activates a little noise. The experiment showed that that one trash can collected more garbage than the others around it. I think that not only by raising awareness but by making things more enjoyable (rather than a chore) might actually improve the situation.
Anyways, good job on your article, Mary; it was well-researched.
Lily Gaetgaeow
-
Permalink Reply by Mary Gilstad on -
Thanks! I am planning on starting in my school, then my street, and so on.
It's tougher than I thought to actually get things done, but I suppose you just need persistence.
-
Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on
-
Great job! I like the fact that you presented the problem gave some relevant statistics and the provided ways to solve the problem. Also your writing is quite engaging, which kept me interested in the whole article. I agree this is an issue that is eminent in the US as well as most of the world and something should be done about it. Again good job.
~Amelia Chacon
-
Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on
-
This is definitely an important issue that needs to be tackled. In Thailand, where I live, recycling and waste is a large problem. Many citizens of Bangkok buy pirated DVDs which always come with complementary dvd cases. Considering the vast number of people who buy pirated DVDs in Bangkok, there must be thousands upon thousands of these dvd cases, some of which are never even used. You can imagine that somewhere, in a stench ridden landfill on the outskirts of the city, there are piles of these cases that obscure the sun. I know people who buy pirated DVDs, put their CDs in a CD case, and then discarding their DVD cases. They literally have hundreds of pirated DVDs, and have thrown away hundreds of DVD cases. This are just a few people, imagine that times 100 (or more). I feel that this is a problem that must be tackled soon before it gets out of hand.
- Michael Perry
-
Permalink Reply by Rebeka Fergusson-Lutz on
-
Very well researched, Mary. I love a girl who knows how to use stats!
Before moving to Doha in August, I lived in DC for four years. I constantly bemoaned the District's recycling program (or lack thereof), but I also tore my hair out about public education and health care, too. Before I moved there was a new policy/statute/law up for debate on city council about making people pay a nickel for every plastic shopping bag that they used at Safeway, CVS, and the like. What happened to that proposition? Did it ever pass?
I'd love to see a similar policy come into effect here in Doha. Every time I go to the supermarket, the bag-boy will put practically every item I own in a separate plastic bag unless I give him a tip NOT to.
-
Permalink Reply by Mary Gilstad on
-
Hey Rebeka,
Yes, that proposition did pass. Since January 1 2010, supermarkets and small markets like CVS and Safeway have been charging a nickel for each plastic bag they use to bag your groceries. Since that time, I have seen a lot of people walking around with large canvas bags, "green" bags, and even shopping bags. Some of the younger set walk around (in style!) with designer shopping bags to carry their groceries. It is funny to see what people come up with to not have to pay the extra fee. However, I don't think the new rule has been as successful as was hoped. Maybe we just need to wait a little bit for people to grow more accustomed to bringing their own bags everywhere.
What I am wondering now is if the new rule will change how DC residents shop for their foodstuffs. In Japan, it is normal to do daily shopping, only buying what you are going to eat that night. Here, moms do their saturday shopping for the whole week (and so get a LOT of food at once.) Will people make the extra effort to use their own bags even in this situation? I hope so.
-
Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on
-
This is an interesting article, especially when compared to other countries using your international experience.
Here in Thailand, there is virtually no opportunities to recycle, so your lucky to live in a relatively "green" country/state.
Omri
-
Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on
-
Wow, I'm very impressed with how thorough this article is, the statistics and charts really help strengthen the thing as a whole. I've been to DC and I know what you're talking about when you say that recycling bins are something that you actually have to look for. Very strong article, great job. :)
Amber B.
International School Bangkok
-
Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on
-
Great written article! I think what Japan is doing might make sorting the trash easier than what they're doing with the trash in Washington DC. I sometimes do feel guilty for being too lazy to find a recycle trash can and would just throw away the plastic bottle or some other trash into a random trash can.
Also, I think recycling is very important now, with global warming becoming a big issue. Recycling can help us save a lot!
Helen Liu
Translate
Poll
Navigation
© 2010 Created by Mark Schulte
