I took a field trip today. My city has a Mission Green program, the part of city government given the task of helping the city become more environmentally responsible -- and who put together our wonderful curbside single-bin recycling program. Mission Green and the city senior center occasionally have a tour of the plant that processes what the recycle trucks take from my street. That's where I went this morning. The plant is on Huron Rd. just off I-275 in New Boston.
We saw… The big scales that weigh the trucks before and after to determine how much trash they are carrying (and how much city residents on that route will be credited for their recycling efforts). The gigantic room where trucks unload and a guy in an earth mover scoops up the trash and drops it into the hopper. The first sorting station where five people pull out the stuff that can't be recycled (garden hoses, window fans) and cardboard (which is recycled). The machines and manual sorters that separate out the paper, aluminum, and the various kinds of plastic. The giant baling machine that compresses one kind of material into a bale which is carted into the back warehouse where it waits for a company to come purchase it. I took a few pictures, but they're on film and I can't share.
Along the way I learned that I can stick in the recycle bin all kinds of plastic material (such as bread wrappers) even if they don't have a recycle symbol on them. I used to take landfill trash out every other week. Then I went to reusable grocery bags and I could set trash out every three weeks. Add recycling and composting and I only need to set it out every four weeks. Perhaps by recycling every last bread bag and cheese wrapper I can get it down to every five or six weeks.
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