In the age of climate change and plastic pollution of our oceans, the topic of recycling and
minimizing waste is becoming more and more prominent. Landfills are a temporary solution. The
human population is growing, and so is our waste. We need to strive for a sustainable life to both
preserve our planet and ensure the indefinite availability of resources for humans to survive. One
of the ways you can live a more ecologically mindful lifestyle is by recycling. It seems quite
straightforward and easy, but most people recycle wrong.
This might come as a surprise, but we do not recycle paper in Wilmore anymore. To understand
why, we need to know where our recyclables go. Asbury University’s recyclables are handled the
same way as all of Wilmore’s recyclables. They are taken to Lexington, where they are processed
and sorted to different recycling plants, sometimes overseas. A lot of U.S. recyclables are
exported to other countries because the U.S. does not have an adequate recyclables market.
However, China, one of U.S.’s biggest importers, has increased its quality standard for acceptable
recyclables and cut imports of plastic by 99%. According to Wired, even before China’s ban, only
9 percent of discarded plastic was being recycled, while 12 percent was burned. The rest was
buried in landfills or simply dumped and left to wash into rivers and oceans. However, now, with
China’s new and improved contamination standard for recyclables, it is almost impossible to
fulfill. Therefore, many cities have nowhere to send recyclables, like paper and other materials, in
the near future, so they stop accepting. Consequentially, this waste ends up in landfills.
What type of contamination is China talking about? Contaminating your recycle bin with non-
recyclable items can make your whole batch of recyclables contaminated and unusable. So it is of
utmost importance to know what is recyclable curbside in your area. This also applies to
recyclables being unclean. Before tossing your used shampoo bottle in the blue bin, you must
rinse it out to make sure no shampoo is left in the bottle.
Below is a list of items that Wilmore recycling accepts. In Jessamine County and in many places
in the U.S., we use single-stream recycling, which means that we do not have to separate our
recyclables. Nonetheless, it is still essential that we only put the accepted items into our recycling
bin. “Hopeful recycling,” the act of hoping that something is recyclable and putting it in the
recycling bin instead of the trash, can create a bigger problem than you might think. Use the rule
“if in doubt, throw it out” instead of trying to hopefully recycle.
A good example of this kind of recycling pertains to the bin outside the Bistro. Most of the things
people put there are cups and clamshells from food, and maybe even the cookie wrapper. None of
them have been cleaned, but it doesn’t really matter, because none of the above are recyclable. In
fact, most of the single-use takeout plastics in our Bistro are not recyclable, from the straws to the
utensils. Last year we switched the cold drink cups from a type 1 plastic, which is recyclable, to
type 6, which in the city of Wilmore is not.
But perhaps we should talk of an even better way to be good stewards of our planet. We know
that creating more plastic is a very unwise decision in regards to our environment. We use fossil
fuels (a finite resource that generates tons of greenhouse gases each year) to create plastic. In
turn, this plastic does not decompose, which means the coffee cup you bought at Starbucks will
outlive you, your children and way beyond your grandkids.
Recycling is an incredible and sustainable way to cycle glass, paper, cardboard, aluminum and
many other materials, but unfortunately, plastic is probably not one on the list. Environmental
research scientist Dr. Max Liboiron said, “Recycling [plastic] is like a Band-Aid on gangrene.”
Not every plastic is recyclable, and even the ones that are (ex. plastic bottles) can only be
recycled so many times. And each time it is recycled, it becomes less durable, which means it
breaks down into microplastic a lot faster.
The problem with microplastics is even more significant than regular plastic swimming in the
ocean. Though regular plastic is a big issue, all of it will eventually break down into microplastic
under the influence of sun, water and wind. At that point, the microplastics easily infiltrate the
food chain, poisoning marine animals, and theoretically (although not so theoretically anymore)
reach our tables, when we consume seafood.
The only sustainable solution is saying no to single-use plastics in general. Of course, this is not
an easy task to do, so the best way is just to start with little steps.
Many people know the principle of the 5 R’s:
- Refuse. (Do not take what you don’t need, i.e. straws, tons of Wal-Mart bags, sauce
packets, single-use utensils and plates, etc.) - Reduce. (Lower your consumption by swapping out for reusable alternatives, i.e. a
reusable water bottle or a reusable grocery bag.) - Reuse. (Use what you have. You might already have everything you need and you will
feel more content.) - Recycle. (Only recycle what actually is recyclable!)
- Rot. (Compost whatever is left, but only if it is compostable.)
The sequence of these steps is critical. By trying to adhere to this principle, you can cut your
waste not only in plastics but also food waste, waste created by fast fashion (which produces 9%
of municipal solid waste) and have a less cluttered life for yourself. By avoiding plastic
packaging and single-use plastics, you are voting with your wallet and letting businesses know
that you do not support the mass use of plastic. Also, go and literally vote and voice out your
concern about plastic pollution and climate change. This, in turn, eventually will lead to policy
change.
Familiarize yourself with the list of materials able to be recycled in Wilmore to avoid “hopeful
recycling.” Note that the recyclables list might be different in your hometown. You can find more
information on recycling on http://www.wilmore.org/recycling/ and
https://www.lexingtonky.gov/recycle
