In recent years, the market for recycled material has waned drastically. In 2022, the City elected to suspend the curbside recycling program due to the increasing inefficiency of collecting materials that are already not currently being recycled due to this market shift when the same material could be picked up and taken to the landfill in the course of our residential sanitation routes. Other than cardboard and clean paper, almost all other material our recycling trucks were picking up was ending up in the landfill. 

Due to the lack of demand for recyclable plastics, it is especially difficult to recycle plastics from single recycle streams as vendors are very selective and strongly favor plastics from pure recycling streams. When a recycle stream is contaminated, there is no market for those recyclables, leaving no choice other than for them to wind up in the landfill.  Pickens County Council has invested in a new bailer, which is fully installed and operational. This will help yield a more marketable product. With the new bailer, Pickens County hopes to bail more recyclables and increase the marketability of single-stream recyclables over time.

Curbside recycling is considered a single stream recycling program. Unfortunately, one of the biggest strengths of single stream recycling is also its biggest weakness: one bin for everything. The ability to throw all recyclables into one bin that is taken to the curb for pickup and transport by a service is almost as easy and convenient as throwing items in the trash, then rolling the cart to the curb. Throwing all of these items in the same bin, which is then dumped into a truck with items from every other bin on your route leads to increased contamination, and these contaminated items end up in the landfill anyway. Even if your bin contains no contaminants, if the cardboard from your bin ends up beside a contaminated bottle with some oily residue and that oil gets on the box, the box is now also contaminated and cannot be recycled.

So, while curbside recycling programs result in a higher percentage of people recycling, a lack of knowledge about correct recycling practices has resulted in an increased cost for operating single stream facilities, making the practice of single-stream, curbside recycling ineffective and inefficient, not to mention expensive.

Dual stream recycling is less convenient as this model requires transporting your recyclables to a facility and sorting them into particular bins. However, this method of recycling has been shown to be significantly more effective and result in significantly lower rates of item contamination and therefore fewer intended recyclables becoming trash.

The demand for recycled materials still exists, but this shift in the market has rendered the single stream curbside model ineffective and expensive.

Recycling contamination occurs when materials are not properly cleaned or when materials are incorrectly sorted. When you are collecting recyclable materials and sorting them into bins, anything other than that specific material – even other recyclable materials – can be considered a contaminant.

How can other recyclable materials be considered contaminants?

Each type of material goes into a different machine to be broken down for recycling. If a plastic bag, for instance, gets mixed in with cardboard, the plastic bag may wrap around axles in the machine, causing the machine to break down and requiring employees to dig the bag out of the machine, which is both dangerous and a waste of time, energy, and money.

What happens to contaminated materials?

Contaminated items become trash and go in the landfill.

How do I prevent contamination?

1. Keep your recyclables separated in labeled bins. Consider adding what can and cannot be recycled in each of these bins as a reference for yourself and others when disposing of items.

2. Be sure all items are clean and dry – no food residue, oil, grease, or liquids (including water).

3. If you’re unsure of what can be recycled and how to do so, contact your recycling provider.

4. Avoid “wish-cycling,” meaning throwing something in the recycling that you hope can be recycled and will eventually end up where it needs to be.

Common types of contamination?