Because it is costing us all money not doing it correctly.
China will not accept any containment shipments without charging us extra money. One shipment recently ended up costing around $150 Thousand in upcharges because they decided it was not clean upon arrival.
There are some places in the US that use the recycling materials, however every major city has a mrf. Material Recovery Facilities. So the stuff on the East Coast really has no place to go other than overseas.
They are not taking our recyclables directly into China. They are going to Vietnam where they can't process the shipments other than reloading on another ship to send it to Chna. Yeah Makes A Lot of Sense! Not Really but that is what is happening. It is coming through another door to reach China.
A ton of Trash can be dumped at the Speedway Landfill for around 29 bucks a ton. That same ton of recycling is approaching 90 bucks to recycle. So it is of upmost importance that Mecklenburg County residents and I mean all of us are recycling correctly.
What use to bring a profit to the County Waste Management Operating funds is no longer bringing in postive Cash flow. Many of the commodites have gone the way of Glass....pretty much worthless to us for making money to cover expenses.
When in doubt toss it in the trash, or take it to a full recycling center. What goes in the Green curb side carts must be clean and accurate materials.
I am on the Waste Managment Advisory Board for Mecklenburg County as a City Council Representative. I have been hearing about these problems for the last 3 years, but it is finally a major issue.
The county pays about 750K bucks a year to ship TV's to ATL that are then shipped out of the country. That is just one item. So it is big money and costing a lot to dispose of materials, trash and yes to even recycle.
The MRF has slowed down operations quiet a bit by about 1/3 to help produce a cleaner bale. However at the current speed it makes it about impossible to process just our residential recycling materials.
All commerical deliveries from businesses have been cut off. We can't process them and they are now costing us and not providing income.
Some recycling businesses are sitting on the materials hoping the price will go back up. Renting warehouses or tarping the bales in open lots. It is that bad.
So Please the next time you go to toss something in the Green Can make sure it belongs. Nothing bagged, nothing with food on it, no plastic films or plastic bags. There are other places that can take that film and plastic bags can go to the grocery stores.
We really have to get a grip on this issue or we will all being paying more out of our pockets to just recycle. It is the difference between paying a little bit more or a lot more.
Recycling is good for Mother Earth, but not so good on our wallets at this time.
