Collecting Recycled Materials

There are a few different systems used to collect recycled material and the differences depend on where the recyclates are sorted and cleaned. Residentially, most recyclates are collected curbside by a waste collection vehicle.

The Collection System Categories Include:

  • Mixed Waste Collection

  • Commingled Recyclables

  • Source Separation

Mixed Waste Collection

There are still communities who use the mixed waste collection system in which all waste, including recyclates, are collected together.  This material is taken to a central sorting facility, then sorted and cleaned.  One potential disadvantage with this system is that potential recyclates (like paper) can become too soiled to reprocess.   The main advantage of this system is that the cities do not have to pay for separately collecting general waste and recycled waste.

Commingled Recyclables

Another system commonly used currently is the commingled or single-stream system.  This means that all recyclables are collected separately from general waste but the recyclables are mixed in together.  The advantages to this system of recycling collection are the diminished need for cleaning and sorting the recyclates once they arrive at the facility.  This system requires public awareness and education about what materials need to be separated.

Source Separation

The system that produces the purest recyclates is commonly called source separation.  This is when each recyclable material is cleaned and sorted before it is collected.  Of course, this requires the least after-collection sorting and at the same time increases the operational costs for the collection of each separate type of recyclable material.  In addition to this, the public would need much more training in order to make sure there was a minimum of recyclate contamination.

Recycling and Sustainable Design

When products and their packaging are designed with recycling in mind, they are called “sustainable.”  The concept of “sustainable design” has the goal of attempting to solve the inherent problem of recycling in that most products are not created to be recycled.  In the book “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things” architect William McDonough and chemist Michale Braungart suggest that every product and the packaging they require should have a complete “closed –loop” cycle  mapped out for each component.  They suggest that every component should be able to either return to the natural ecosystem through biodegradation or be recycled indefinitely.

Although we are slowly getting better at the game of recycling, complete recycling is impractical because of excessive energy necessary to recover highly scattered and diluted waste material.

Benefits of Recycling

  • Reduction of Landfill Waste

  • Conserves Natural Resources

  • Reduction of Energy Consumption

  • Decrease of Environmental Pollution

  • Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions

  • Sustains the Environment for Future Generations

  • Creates New Jobs in both Manufacturing and Recycling in the US

  • Saves Money 

To see what we offer in the way of recycling collection trucks or waste sorting equipment, please visit our MarketPlace.