Let’s Get Recycling Right

The Lynn Department of Public Works will be distributing a Recycling IQ Kit on May 29, and we urge all residents to read this kit and adhere to the recycling rules. The way we recycle is vital if we do not want to see recycled goods end in a landfill.

In January, China, the largest purchaser of U.S. recycled products has cut down on the tonnage that it will be buying from the United States.  Part of the reason is that China is recycling more itself, and part of the reason is that our recycling method is poor or in the jargon of the industry, “contaminated.”

Thus, we now  are ending up with more recycled products than we can sell abroad or to companies in the United States. Simply put, our recycled items cost more to put into a useful second life than they can be sold on the open market.

Plastic bags are a main reason of this recycling problem.  These  bags  often clog the machinery that sorts our recycled products.

In the early days, every community started on recycling simply because companies would pay for recycled goods in whatever shape they were in and at the same time, communities did not have to pay to have these items trucked to a landfill.  Often, these recycling companies paid communities hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy the recycled goods.

However, those days of high prices and sloppy recycling are long gone.

Many residents maybe angered by the policies of the DPW enforcing the recycling rules, but these employees are only doing their jobs.

Recycling is more than just putting plastics and newspapers outside in a box on collection day. It is easy to do recycling and good for the environment, but it has to be done correctly. Remember, proper recycling starts with you.

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