Concord's curbside collection program collects a variety of commonly recycled materials. Residents sometimes wonder why additional materials are not collected for recycling. There are three main reasons why materials are not collected at the curb for recycling.
1. Volume - In order for it to be cost effective to collect a material for recycling, there needs to be a large enough volume of that product for the recycling facility to be able to economically sort, store, and market the material.
2. Market - Even though there are large volumes of certain products, there needs to be a market for the materials or there is nothing to do with the product once collected.
3. Collection problems - Some products for which there is sufficient volume and markets are not collected at the curb because they cause problems in the collection process.
Materials collected at the curb in Concord's curbside collection program are taken to a materials recovery facility (MRF) that handles materials collected from many communities in Massachusetts. The materials collected in Concord's program are the same materials that are collected from all the other communities that bring materials to the MRF. If there is not sufficient volume or markets for it to be practical to collect the materials on a large scale, or if the items pose problems in the MRF's automated sorting machinery, our program cannot collect those materials.
Styrofoam
Unfortunately there is no large scale market for Styrofoam at this time. There is a company in Framingham that takes materials collected at our drop-off event, but the company cannot handle Styrofoam on a large scale.
Plastic bags
There is currently a strong market for plastic bags, which are used in making plastic lumber, unfortunately they become tangled up in the sorting machinery at the MRF. Plastic bags can be recycled at some local grocery stores and dry cleaners.
Pizza boxes
Pizza boxes are not collected in our program because too often there is cheese or grease or pizza still inside. At the MRF the sorters will automatically throw away all pizza boxes rather then waste their time checking to see if they are clean. If you have a truly clean pizza box you can recycle it by turning it inside out, folding it, and placing it with your other mixed paper.
Flower pots
Unfortunately no one seems to want flower pots at this time. We have found a market that can handle a small quantity and will be collecting them at our drop-off day.
Drinking glasses, glass dishes and bowls, Pyrex dishes, window panes, ceramics, etc.
These are made with a different combination of materials than glass bottles and jars and cannot be sent to a facility that manufactures bottles and jars.
Motor oil and chemical containers
Since we do not want motor oil and other chemical in our waste water, residents are asked to dispose of containers that held these materials with their regular trash in order to prevent these chemicals for entering the waste water systems during the cleaning or manufacturing process.
Coffee cups, ice cream boxes, etc.
Recycled paper products are made by adding water to collected paper to create a paper "slurry". Paper products that are designed not be break down when they come in contact with moisture do not properly dissolve in the slurry and create problems in the remanufacturing process. Any paper product that is coated with wax (paper cups) or plastic (containers to hold refrigerated and frozen foods, take out food, etc.) do not break down and should not be collected for recycling.
Plastic lids, straws, utensils, etc.
These items are made from various different materials and are too small and varied to handle at the MRF.
REMEMBER
Markets for recyclable materials continue to change. We do our best to keep our program simple and consistent, even as markets shift. There are times when there are no reasonable markets for some products in our collection program. At this point in time the markets for #3 - #7 plastics is weak. We collect these materials in our program but do not guarantee that they will be always be recycled. By collecting these materials and delivering them to the MRF consistently the MRF is able to sell the products when there is a market without us having to change and re-educate our residents. Markets for all other materials collected in our program are strong at this time.
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