Recycling in the 215

Quick - take a poll of your friends and neighbors on the topic of recycling and recyclable materials. I guarantee you that not one Philadelphian will get all of the answers correct at the first go-around. At least these were my results, and given the ongoing conversation in my own household ("Are you sure we can't recycle a #6?" and "Why do all the non-recyclable plastic containers seem to come from Whole Foods?") no one seems to have a clear grasp on the recycling system.

In January of 2009, Philadelphia went from biweekly to weekly curbside pick up of recyclables AND around the same time, we also joined the ranks of the highly civilized around the country by going "single stream," meaning that no longer did we have to separate our plastics, paper, and metal and aluminum. Most, if not all of the confusion, stems from which "numbers" on the bottoms of plastic containers may be recycled. The answer is sadly, only Types #1 and #2.

It isn't as hopeless as it seems, however - Type #4 Plastics are the type of plastic commonly found in plastic bread and grocery bags, which can be recycled at local grocery stores. Rather than floating about in the ocean, these are recycled into lumber, trashcan liners, and other plastic bags. Type #6 Plastics are the hardest it seems to recycle as they are the evil foam materials. Some states and counties around the country do have drop off sites for these types of plastics, though Philadelphia currently does not. Click here for all thing (or at least, what the city offers) recycling in the 215.

Whole Foods has a program where you can drop off your Type #5 plastics (which tend to be commonly found on nearly everything - medication bottles, hair product, rotisserie chickens from Trader Joes, hummus, etc.) in the corresponding bin. Whole Foods will send the amassed Type #5 plastic containers to Preserve, a company who makes recycled household products. When they get your plastic, Preserve gets a little Sweeney Todd and grinds up your old shampoo, medicine, and/or yogurt and hummus containers into clean plastic pellets. These pellets will then be used to make new items. Click here for more information about Preserve's Whole Foods program and to find a participating store near you.

Aside from the plastic confusion, there is another very important contamination issue to be covered with your recycling: that which has not been rinsed of food residue. We all understand the need to be tidy and desire to make a difference but clearly, people, pizza boxes covered in grease cannot be recycled just as it would be preferable if you there, eating your chicken wings while walking your dog did not see open recycling containers on the sidewalk as "trash." When you do either type of "co-mingling" the recycled material just sits there. Because the recycling attendants do not collect trash. They collect recycling. And trash is what dog poop, chicken wings, and greasy pizza boxes are.