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Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
A Birmingham Recycling and Recovery worker pulls plastic bags from a conveyor belt of plastics.
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Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
A Birmingham Recycling and Recovery worker sweeps recycled items back onto the conveyor belt.
Not all plastics are created equal. When it comes to recycling, there are several common plastics and other household products that Homewood residents can’t put in their recycling bins.
Homewood resident Miriam Newman is an avid recycler, but she said she feels many Homewood residents don’t know which products can and cannot be recycled. She has seen items such as pillows, mops and plastic bats in recycling bins around the city, as well as types of plastics or paper that are recyclable in general but are not picked up by Republic Services, Homewood’s contracted recycling provider.
Newman calls it “wish-cycling.”
“It’s what you wish would be recycled, so you put it in there,” she said.
Republic Services provides recycling bins to 6,100 households in Homewood and picked up around 1,200 tons of recycled goods in the city in 2017, Manager of Municipal Services Gary Stignani said. The City of Homewood picked up 11,350 tons of trash and garbage from homes in 2017, roughly 10 times the amount of recycled goods.
Birmingham Recycling and Recovery (BRR), which processes recycled waste from Homewood and 24 other municipalities to bale and sell to manufacturers, sees the same problems that Newman has observed in her neighborhood, but on a much larger scale.
BRR Sales Manager Leigh Shaffer said that, on average, residential recycling loads average a 20 to 40 percent contamination rate when they arrive at the center. This includes everything from glass and types of plastics their machines can’t process to items such as plastic bags and garden hoses that can damage equipment. There are also items that can be recycled, Shaffer said, but are covered in food waste and can’t be processed.
Anything contaminated or ineligible winds up in a landfill.
“Pretty much every load has some sort of contamination in it,” Shaffer said.
The BRR is working with several municipalities, including Homewood’s Environmental Council and Republic Services, to reduce the contamination so more of what goes in recycling bins will actually be reused.
The following items can be put in residential recycling bins to be picked up by Republic Services and processed by the BRR: #1 and #2 plastic containers (including water and soda bottles, milk jugs, detergent and shampoo bottles), junk mail, magazines, cardboard (flattened), office paper, newspaper and aluminum, steel or tin cans.
With all of these things, Stignani said it’s important that items are “empty, clean and dry” to reduce contamination rates. After the materials are sorted and baled, they are sent to a mill to be made into new products.
Common items that cannot be recycled through Republic Services’ residential program include plastic grocery bags, plastics #3-7, Styrofoam, phone books, glass, electronics, scrap metal and household garbage.
“If you’re questioning it, throw it in the trash,” Stignani said. Republic Services and other recycling providers are charged by the BRR depending on the level of contamination that will have to be sorted out of the loads they deliver.
With the help of the Homewood Environmental Commission, Stignani said Republic Services put together a mailer to send to residents around Earth Day to clarify recyclable items and “how to handle the material in a cleaner way.”
“It’s a work in progress,” Shaffer said. But her hope is that by working with cities like Homewood to share this information, the BRR will be able to successfully recycle more of the 3,000 tons of residential and commercial materials they process each month.
Newman said she sees many of her neighbors are active in filling their recycle bins, even if they don’t always know the right materials to put in.
“I would say there is a consistent group that wants to recycle,” she said.
Lindsey Warren is among those who put extra effort into reducing waste. She lives in an apartment complex that does not have recycling pickup, so for a while she had to fill her car on the weekends to drive to the recycling locations downtown.
“What I was having to do was pile up recyclables in my small apartment and then spend my Saturdays loading up and taking it,” Warren said.
Instead of the hassle, she said, she got an extra recycling bin to start putting out on pickup days. Some of Warren’s neighbors tend to use her bin, too, but Warren said she doesn’t mind if it gets full before the next pickup.
“It’s great, too, because it means people are wanting to recycle,” Warren said.
Warren said she would like to see regular recycling service from Republic at her apartment. HEC member Amber Kustos said the city’s contract with Republic doesn’t exclude apartment complexes, but it is the responsibility of the landlord or property owner to set up those services.
Warren said there are other recycling services she would like to see, including reduced waste from local restaurants and more frequent access to hazardous waste disposal for items like paint, pesticides and light bulbs.
“I wish it was accessible 365 days a year because I’m not holding onto this stuff all year,” Warren said.
Residents looking to expand their recycling efforts beyond the city’s programs have a few options. Grocery stores in the area will often recycle grocery bags, while some automotive stores and mechanics will safely dispose of oil and other vehicle fluids.
Those who don’t have city pickup or need more frequent pickup can take their recycling to the BRR’s community bin, located at 9 41st Street South. There is also the Alabama Environmental Council, located just a few blocks away from the BRR at 4330 1st Avenue South.
Shaffer said the AEC takes all of the same materials as the BRR, with the addition of small engines, empty propane tanks, corks, steel/mixed metal, copper, brass, steel cans, PUR/Brita water filter products, electronics (including computers, televisions and cell phones), ink/toner cartridges, wood, batteries (rechargeable, single use and auto), appliances, textiles, cigarette waste and #6 rigid plastic cups.
The AEC has temporarily paused accepting glass, Shaffer said.
Get more information about Homewood’s recycling services and acceptable items at homewoodal.net/recycle.html.
How much does Homewood recycle?
► 2017 Recycling total: 1,201 tons
► 2017 Garbage/Trash total: 11,350 tons
SOURCE: Republic Servicesand City of Homewood
Accepted materials
Accepted materials by Republic Services and Birmingham Recycling and Recovery:
► Junk mail
► Magazines
► Cardboard and corrugated cardboard
► Newspaper
► Paper
► Detergent bottles
► Shampoo bottles
► Milk Jugs
► Paper egg cartons (not Styrofoam)
► Water or soda bottles
► Aluminum cans
► Paper board
► Soup cans
Accepted materials by Alabama Environmental Council (all of the above, plus):
► Small engines
► Empty propane tanks
► Corks
► Steel/mixed metal
► Copper
► Brass
► Steel cans
► PUR/Brita water filter products
► Electronics (including computers, televisions and cell phones)
► Ink/toner cartridges
► Wood
► Batteries (rechargeable, single use and auto)
► Appliances
► Textiles
► Cigarette waste
►#6 rigid plastic cups
Birmingham Recycling and Recovery, located at 9 41st St. S., is open to the public 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Alabama Environmental Council, located at 4330 First Ave. S., is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
