All-In-One Waste Collection: The Benefits and Downfalls
In an attempt to rescue the planet from all the waste we’ve subjected it to, many large cities are considering opening up mixed-waste facilities to deal with the materials their citizens discard. To accommodate the new system, each homeowner would put all non-toxic waste into a single bin: compost, garbage, and recycling. It may sound like a terrible idea, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. In this article, we’ll explore the good, the bad, and the dirty of a mixed-waste system.
Schools and city waste pamphlets put a lot of work into making sure regional residents know what can be recycled and what must be thrown away. With an all-in-one waste disposal program, there’s only one bin for each citizen to choose from, so there’s no confusion about what goes where. Not only does this save landfill, recycling, and compost employees the time it takes each entity to manually sort the materials, but it also saves money previously spent on the posters and educational programs the city creates.
Unfortunately, tossing every used product you have into one bin will inevitably contaminate things that could otherwise be reused. Many recyclable items that are placed in the correct bins and sent to the appropriate facilities or waste removal companies cannot be recycled simply because they have too much food, adhesive, or unrecyclable waste on them. This is especially true when it comes to paper products, which must be clean and dry to be safely recycled.
Another area in which cities can save money with this program is through a lone waste collection program. Instead of picking up waste, compost, and recycling on two or three different occasions, one large team would pick up the combined waste and sort it out at a single facility. This sadly goes against the pro-recycling mantra that so many modern-day consumers have come to respect, and denying them the right to recycle could hurt the earth and the efforts of its caretakers.
For cities who are still getting the hang of a smooth-running recycling program, an all-in-one system could be just what they need. It’s easier for residents to transition to a system that’s similar to the one they already use, not having to worry about where recyclable materials go. However, labour costs for sorters will naturally go up in areas that produce huge amounts of waste. It’s also unlikely that many workers will want to spend their days in the midst of garbage.
Recycling markets could potentially change as a result of a mixed-waste system, as recycling plants won’t have to tweak the recycling rules every so often to suit the needs of the market. Instead, the all-in-one plant would simply change its sorting technique. The downside to this is that it’s difficult to determine how many people are actually recycling and what happens to the discarded materials. The numbers can be muddled if the facility chooses to burn instead of dump waste, for example.
In truth, mixed-waste programs can work only if they’re properly executed and maintained.
