— from Orcas Recycling/The Exchange —
The political and ecological challenges we face today can be overwhelming. The problems are vast, spanning the globe. We all know that we need to act, but how can we make a difference when the challenges are so great?
One way is to start small. Start local. Take small bites. Here’s a great place to start: the Island’s waste stream. With a little bit of heavy lifting, we can make a big difference. Zero-waste is the goal, and as members of an island community, it’s our shared responsibility.
We’ve done great things before. We came together to re-build The Exchange reuse center. In 2018 alone, The Exchange kept approximately 159 tons of usable material out of greenhouse gas-emitting landfills.
Just the same, we still managed to generate and ship to the mainland over 5,060 tons of garbage and 660 tons of co-mingled (mixed together) recyclables. In other words, we are generating about one ton of waste per-person every year.
We still have a lot of work ahead of us. And that is what this letter is about–the next step towards a zero-waste future.
A Better System for Managing Recyclables
Over the past three years the recycling system in America has collapsed. For almost three decades China had been the primary market for our recyclables. Suddenly, in early 2017 they halted imports. In the U.S., we do not have the infrastructure to process all this material. So where does it go? Sadly, a significant percentage now goes to the landfill.
How can we address this nationwide problem locally? We can’t change the mind of the Chinese government. We can’t change the practices of the profit-driven sorting facility where our co-mingled recyclables currently go.
What we can do is take matters into our own hands—by building the facilities we need to process separated recyclables here on Orcas.
Instead of sending trucks full of semi-contaminated co-mingled recycling off-island to the sorting facility, we need to collect separated aluminum, cardboard, paper, plastics and glass (like we used to do) and process them efficiently and effectively.
These materials, when co-mingled, are almost worthless. But when they are separated and compacted into clean, uncontaminated bales we can begin to capture their value as resources.
The rate at which baled materials are actually recycled goes up, and the cost of shipping them back to the mainland drops significantly.
Estimated breakdown of Orcas Island’s Recycling by volume & weight (2018)
The potential for managing glass is even more exciting. ORS has determined that if we can crush the 160 tons of glass we produce annually into sand, all of it—100 percent—could be used in construction and excavation projects here on the island. In other words: glass would never have to be shipped back to the mainland.
The Andela two-stage glass crusher will reduce glass into sand for use in local construction projects.
We have done our research. After researching recycling facilities around Washington State, ORS has developed preliminary designs for a recycling center at our Orcas Island Transfer Station. We need to build a simple metal building with concrete slab to house an industrial-scale horizontal baler for compacting recyclables. We also need a new two-stage glass crusher for converting glass containers into sand.
Once in place, this will make a big dent in that 660-plus tons of co-mingled recycling we generate on Orcas every year. We will dramatically increase the amount of material that is actually recycled, and significantly decrease our carbon footprint by reducing the number of garbage trucks leaving the island.
Another plus: Sorted and baled materials have value. With careful management and savings from reduced hauling we can start creating incentives for separation—and start passing the savings on to the community in the form of lower prices for recycling.
Once in place, this new recycling center will provide a major step towards maximizing the management of our waste stream. We will progress further towards our shared goal of zero-waste. We will decrease our carbon footprint. We will create jobs, and we will start looking like a model community that might just inspire other communities down the road.
Please join us in getting this done. Because truly–if we can’t solve this on Orcas Island, where will it ever be solved?
Help us get to our target of $441, 981 and start making a real difference in how we manage our waste here on the island. Click here to make your contribution online.
Happy holidays, best regards, and thank you for your continuing support!
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I am on board with this plan and support it 100%! Back in the mid 90s after visiting Orcas and The Exchange several times, I went full in on recycling. I remember setting up sorting containers in my basement for the different plastics, cereal boxes, cardboard, glass, aluminum, etc. The problem I recognized immediately was that the only place that took sorted recycling was 45+ miles from home. The carbon cost of driving there to recycle properly really defeated the purpose of and contributed to the carbon cost of the recycling. Sound familiar? As we know, co-mingled recycling seemed to be a great thing, but I have always been skeptical of its overall effectiveness. I know recycling properly takes work, and we islanders are up to the task. I commend The Exchange for taking this seriously.
That’s what many of us did two decades ago — separated our recyclables into different, color-coded bins: newspapers, glass, cans. We certainly did so in Santa Cruz, where I Iived until 2010 (I remember even sorting glass bottles according to color). It would help a lot to have such color-coded bins again, and separate bins at ORS into which we could toss the recyclables. I’d be happy to do so.
But there are always those who will do nothing to recycle. It always pains me to see all the aluminum cans in the garbage bin at ORS.
I am totally in favor of the Orcas Recycling proposal. Michael Riordan, I can remember helping to start a recycling effort four decades ago while attending Humboldt State University in Arcata. We had three seperate used 55 gallon oil cans that we used for green, brown and clear glass. Had to break them down with a sledgehammer!! Unfortunately, we don’t seem to have progressed much in forty-plus years.
When it costs $12/can for trash, $7/can for recycling, or $12 minimum to just drive over the scales and dump it ALL as trash, the price structure at ORS makes it cost-prohibitive for the lower and middle class who can’t afford to either a-la-carte their trash or don’t have the space to hoard their waste at home to save on fees.
Leucothea–I’m not sure what the costs of taking your recyclables and trash to the dump have to do with your ability to recycle. Taking recycling to the dump costs less than trash, for a reason–to encourage it. It costs little to nothing to recycle, and many low-to-moderate income people do it religiously.
For years, the recycling industry processed commingled recycling, and any separated recycling was commingled for transfer as a result. That is why the recycling rules we “relentless recyclers” used way back in the beginning of the movement separating glass (by color), cardboard, aluminum, etc.–changed to commingled recycling.
Now, the major market for such recycling has collapsed and we must look at alternatives–principally and most easily, for glass and cardboard, which can be separately recycled and reliably so, if properly handled. A baler would allow cheaper shipment of cardboard and assurance that it would be recycled, rather than put in the landfill. A glass crusher would allow the crushed glass to remain and be used on island. These two projects make eminent sense in our current world.
Obviously, as I think Sadie Bailey has recently reminded us, the first steps are to try to limit our importation of disposables onto the island. The next should be to work to address cardboard and glass, which can be removed from the waste stream reliably.
The changing circumstances and rules for recycling are confusing for many; I would love to see some high school kids undertake projects to address this through community education and training.
Steve–Actually, the industry has progressed, though never fast enough. Recently, I found myself on Bora Bora visiting the solid waste facility during our 20th wedding anniversary cruise. (I’m married to an ORS volunteer board member. We spend a lot of time talking trash. He couldn’t resist the opportunity.) There is a small glass crusher there that manages to reduce the CONSIDERABLE glass bottle output from the tourist facilities throughout the islands (lots of champagne and French bottled water) to almost granular sand. it was very impressive.
Hurray for Orcas Recycling!
As for the carbon footprint to haul recycling, this is eliminated for me by combining the recycling trip with another trip into town. Carpooling recycling is another thought. Think outside the box!
I combine my recycling trip with a trip into Eastsound. I guess this does not work if your live in Eastsound, but you could carpool with a friend to Orcas Recycling and visit the Exchange while you are at it. Lots of fun.