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Where Your Recyclables Go - The Single-Stream Recycling Process

Recyclebank presents WHERE YOUR RECYCLABLES GO THE SINGLE-STREAM RECYCLING PROCESS Single-stream recycling programs allow you to combine multiple recyclable materials (like paper, plastic, glass, and metal) in one curbside bin. But once you've collected the recyclables and rolled them out to the curb, where do the recyclables go? Let's take a look. SINGLE-STREAM VS. DUAL-STREAM RECYCLING SINGLE-STREAM RECYCLING DUAL-STREAM RECYCLING You can combine different VS materials in one bin. Check what specific materials are accepted in your program. Ex. Are bottle caps or You must sort your recyclables books accepted? into separate bins. The ease of single-stream recycling has made it an increasingly popular option for municipalities and haulers to implement. Increase in volume of collected recyclables when using single-stream rather than dual-stream recycling programs. 40% But watch out for contamination! When everything is mixed together, there's a bigger risk that materials will be soiled and no longer be recyclable. Make sure all your recyclables are clean and dry before recycling. Percentage of U.S. communities using 20% (to 64% single-stream recycling in 2005 vs. 2010. THE SINGLE-STREAM PROCESS COLLECTION Collection trucks come around and empty your recycling bin. Before placing recyclables in your curbside bin: Only recycle accepted materials! Unaccepted materials can jam MRF machinery, costing millions of dollars a year in extra labor costs. Different programs accept Rinse and dry food containers, different materials, so check and flatten any cardboard with your municipal program. materials. Once recyclables are collected from your curbside, they are taken to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). MRFS separate recyclables by material and bale them to be sold to manufacturers. WARNING: Many MRFS cannot process plastic grocery bags. Take bags to grocery stores to be recycled. SEPARATION Trucks unload the recyclables at the MRF. Materials are then loaded onto a conveyor belt to begin sorting. 00000 Employees quickly remove plastic bags and other non-recyclables. tttttt Plastic Bags Yard Waste Garbage Polystyrene Foam Large vacuums carry these materials to the trash. Items then pass over screens that separate paper and cardboard from heavier glass, metal, and plastic. 0000000 000000O Paper items float over the Heavier items fall through to screens. another conveyor belt. Some single-stream MRFS have to stop the machinery 6-8 times a day to clear plastic bag jams in the screens. ↑ttttt Powerful magnets then separate metals from glass and plastic: Steel is attracted to a magnet A reverse magnet repels and collected. aluminum into a separate area. Puffs of air sort glass and plastic by weight. Lighter plastic bottles are The air doesn't affect heavier pushed by the air onto a glass containers, which are then different conveyor belt. broken down for glass recycling. ↑ttttt Optical scanners use light beams to separate plastics by type. D0000 This allows similar plastics to be baled together. Ex: #1 plastics (like water bottles) vs. #2 plastics (like detergent jugs) Unaccepted plastics may not be recognized, and could get mixed in with other plastics, lowering their quality and value. COMPACTING & BALING After all the recyclables are sorted, they are compacted into bales. 1,000 to 1,500 BALE POUNDS Manufacturers buy bales to create new products using recycled material. This step ensures the things we use and toss everyday end up in new products, rather than ending up in landfills. Bales with low contamination are worth more, and those materials have a better chance of getting put back into new products. Remember to only put clean, dry, accepted items in your recycling bin! Next time you roll the recycling bin out to the curb, you'll know exactly where those recyclables are headed. By participating in your community's curbside recycling program, you're reducing waste and making smart use of the planet's resources! Recyclebank inspires and rewards smarter, everyday choices for a more sustainable future. We know that it takes a group effort to make a positive impact, which is why we bring together communities, businesses, and people like you. To find out what's recyclable in your area, visit Recyclebank MyRecycling.Recyclebank.com. Learn more about how recycling works and recycling contamination at Recyclebank.com. SOURCES http://www.wm.com/sustainability/pdfs/2014_Sustainability_Re- port.pdfhttp://recycleguys.org/Documents/MRF-Diagram-11x17.pdfhttp://www.ecocycle.org/recycle-compost-reuse/ singlestreamhttp://www.ecocycle.org/files/pdfs/single-stream_recycling_guide.pdfhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/bi Il-chameides/single-stream-recycling_b_3955323.html http://www.weforum.org/pdf/sustainableconsumption/DSC%200verview%20Bri efing%20-%20- Closed%20Loop%20Systems.pdf https://myrecycling.recyclebank.com/topic/mrf-materials-recovery-facility https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CFE51D1CCI http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-chameides/single-stream-recycling_b_3955323.html This is one example of the process. Different MRFS will have different machinery and processes will vary slightly from facility to facility.

Where Your Recyclables Go - The Single-Stream Recycling Process

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Single-stream recycling programs help the environment and reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfill, by allowing you to combine multiple materials into one bin. This infographic looks at what...

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RecycleBank

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Environment
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