Recycling in plastic liners
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Do any colleges/universities send recyclables inside plastic liners into a single-stream system? We're in a large, metropolitan area where the single-stream system for the general public warns against putting recyclables inside plastic liners (they'll end up in the landfill!). But, my understanding is that our University is exempt, meaning we can deliver recyclables inside plastic liners and that the MRF will tear them open. Do they? I'd like to find out if other large institutions have similar agreements.
Our recycler would prefer loose material as well, but they tolerate the bags, rip them open, and recycle the contents. We use clear green bags to distinguish recyclables from trash as the material is moved from buildings to the recycling and trash dumpsters. I suspect the bags end up in the landfill because the recycler uses blowers for sorting and doesn't like plastic film. If you come up with a way to avoid using the bags, let the world know. Thanks.
Thanks for the replies. My concern began with hearing that some older MRFs, that do not have automated bag-rippers, tend to push full plastic bags to the side for eventual landfill. There are a number of reasons for this. When a MRF is running full-speed (meaning all the time, except when they've slowed the system to perform an audit) it's very difficult to have someone pull bags and rip them open and still keep up the speed. Mostly it's about safety. Even if it's a clear bag they don't know what's in it (broken glass, needles, dirty diapers?), and if the system isn't automated, a worker needs to use a knife to rip open bags, both of which issues raise real safety concerns. I'm curious too about a university being exempt from a plastic liner ban, that it's not okay for the entire municipality but it's acceptable because we're a large customer. I don't think a MRF running at full-speed, with an actual mountain of mixed recyclables getting pushed into the system by a front-loader, is able to distinguish the exempt customer from any other.
I don't mean to disparage the system here, but I question some things. How often do we visit the MRF and find out exactly how they do it, and where the stuff goes, and what we can do to make the system work more efficiently for everyone?
Thank you, and I think we can come up with a better way.
Our single-stream recycler for the University of Louisville, QRS Recycling, accepts materials in plastic bags that are ripped open at the MRF.
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Our recycler prefers that our single stream material be loose. However, they know that this creates a "nightmare" from an operations standpoint so they accept our materials in bags. My understanding is that most clear liners/bags get recycled as clear film. Colored liners and black or brown end up being landfilled.