Effective on July 1, Montgomery County Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority (MRSWA) no longer accept plastics in the #3 to #7 in recycling categories. Plastics that are #3 to #7 have low market value because of the low cost to produce them, which means companies are not demanding them. Since companies will not use these plastics, they sometimes have to be thrown away instead. Teresa Sweeney, education and training coordinator at MRSWA, confirms, “These plastics have a low demand in the market and there’s nothing we can do with them. So, we are no longer accepting plastics #3–7.” Plastics #1 and #2 are still accepted because they are constantly being reused and the demand for them is high. For companies, the items produced after recycling these products tend to cost more than the effort put into sorting them out from the waste stream.
Items that are not accepted include plastic bags, kiddie pools, plastic toys, styrofoam, clothing, food wastes, drinks, wires and cords. Electronics must be brought to MRSWA. In addition, recyclables do not have to be washed before they are put in the recycling bin. Since MRSWA uses single-stream recycling, items being recycled do not have to be separated before pickup. Educational promotions for letting citizens know about the new rule include using signs posted around the county, social media outlets, and local news sites and channels.
Read the full story at www.collegiatetimes.com/news/montgomery-county-changes-plastic-recycling-policy/article_02b7d708-7e67-11e8-b08c-6fa4a3d886f9.html.