Recently there have been many misunderstandings regarding recycling. The recycling industry is struggling in recent months because of a ban that China placed on importing recyclables due to contamination that has been mixed in with recyclable materials for many years. That ban has put a huge strain on the world’s recycling approaches. China previously processed about half of the world’s plastics and paper. Today there is a huge oversupply of recyclable material and the rules for what is acceptable have tightened down considerably.

So what can we do? First, we simply need to make sure we are following the rules that have been given us and by our local recycling processors. In North Ogden, our recycling is collected by Republic Services and processed by Recycled Earth. The process is unique in that all we as a community are required to do is to put empty, clean and dry recyclables in the Blue Bins and the recycling companies sort it for us. Growing up in Vegas we had three part recycling bins where we had to separate the waste and it was collected separately. This is a simpler process. However it does not come without its issues.

If we put the wrong items in recycling it can cause issues.For example if we don’t clean out the food within our plastics, it can contaminate an entire load which will be rejected and is then simply thrown out, what a waste. The graphic on the right will tell you what you can and can’t recycle as well as dispel some myths. The biggest myth, which was recently printed by the Standard Examiner, is that you cannot recycle magazines like this one—YES YOU CAN! And please do! The waxy/ glossy paper that cannot be recycled is referred to as coated paper like that used in juice boxes and almond milk containers, it cannot be recycled, so toss it out. Another surprising thing is that you cannot recycle pizza boxes nor glass. Glass can be recycled but not in our blue containers. So when in doubt, throw it out so you can help save our recycling program.

North Ogden is faced with making a decision regarding our recycling program. Costs are going up, rejection of loads are also increasing, putting the recycling program at risk of being canceled all together. Please take the survey to make your voice heard regarding the recycling program.