When Your City's Recycling Program Doesn't

We have a mandatory recycling program here in Lima Ohio, have had for a while now. It took quite a while to get it up and running - to get the City's residents to use the recycling bins the City provides. But now everyone is pretty good about sorting their recyclables from their regular trash. We have nice, large rolling trash bins for our recycling items (having graduated from the small brightly colored curbside boxes a few years ago). 

We aren't asked to separate clear glass from colored, paper from the various levels of plastic, fold cardboard a certain way or even thoroughly wash out the jars and cans as I had to do in Connecticut. It IS nice not to have to run the dishwasher just so you can put things out to be recycled. Very simple here, if you can recycle it, put it all in the same bin.

We even have separate bins you can buy (for a mere $20) for your yard waste. We get yard waste clear bags from the City as well (just have to show your utility bill), so long as you don't put sticks in them you are good to go and off they got to be composted. You bundle your sticks/branches longer than 4 feet or they don't get picked up. You can even purchase the compost from the City. Heck the tables and benches downtown are made from recycled plastics. The Mayor has given presentations on the City's green movement and innovations.

Over the years this has been great. This environmentalist was very happy about the whole thing. But then we switched collection providers and I noticed something. At first I thought this was simply a function of the new company not understanding the system.

THEY WERE PUTTING ALL THE TYPES OF COLLECTION INTO THE SAME TRUCK!

There wasn't a second truck that came around and picked up the recycling and yard materials any longer. On no, one truck and everything into the same compartment. This is not one of those larger city trucks with separate compartments for trash and recycling. Oh no... one trash truck. One.

I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I kept watching to see if it would happen again. And it did. And it does every time they come by - it all goes in one bin. So I did what any civic minded and very annoyed environmental activist would do... I talked to my City Council representative. 

I was appalled at the answer.

There's no money in recycling so we DON'T DO IT ANY MORE!!

Now mind you, the City is still requiring that the residents jump through all these hoops which, although I don't mind, I'm sure bugs the hell out of some people. The logic being that it took so long to get this system in place and up and running if we told the residents what was really going on and said it was okay to stop separating your trash we'd never get them started back up again later. That is a halfway decent point. But come on!

With the green movement all around us, with energy conservation taking off (finally), with people looking for renewable resources in building  materials etc. and so much that can be done with recyclable materials what is the REAL story here? 

In Japan near our sister city of Harima-cho there is a recycling center that will blow you away. The stuff they turn from trash to treasure is amazing. Including fabric out of plastics. I have a beautiful paperweight made from clear and colored glass - looks hand blown and you'd never know it was from recycled materials. They take their mandatory recycling seriously over there and they are making it work. Why can't we?

Real story option 1: the trash company doesn't want to do it so they are saying there's no money in it; option 2 no one wants to pass costs on to City residents - which is understandable I suppose but right now you are lying to everyone and that is not acceptable.

I have a brother in the recycling business in Texas. Business is good down there. So I have to wonder... why not here? What is this company's REAL story. Right now we have a recycling program that doesn't recycle. There is something very wrong about that in my opinion.