Old Symbol with a Big Impact
By Albert B. Kelly
When it comes to recycling, things used to be easy. There
was glass, newspapers, and certain obvious plastics that made up the bulk of
what we’ve been recycling over the years. But lately, knowing what to recycle
has not been quite as simple and clear cut as in times past.
These days, technology has gotten good and industry can
recycle almost anything, whether cardboard, assorted types of paper, magazines,
a variety of plastics, and a whole composite of materials that goes into making
the stuff we use and consume on a daily basis.
Being on the Cumberland County Improvement Authority board
for many years, starting just when our current county landfill was sited, I’ve
watched recycling grow from its infancy here in Cumberland County to where
we’re now one of the states’ recycling leaders.
But still, on any given day I might pause over the recycling
bin in the kitchen, holding up one thing or another looking for that triangular
chasing arrow recycling symbol- wondering whether the thing I’m holding is
plain old trash or a recyclable.
Coming at it as I do, from both the municipal and regulatory
perspective, I have a renewed appreciation for recycling and what it means for
communities and more broadly, our environment. Before doing public service,
first as a member of Council and now as a mayor, I did not give it as much
thought.
Now however, it’s about landfill tipping fees, recycling
credits, standardized containers, hauling contracts, and the stuff that doesn’t
make into a container that litters the curbs and sidewalks of the community.
Looking at it from that angle, we’re talking hundreds of
thousands, if not millions of dollars, to the good or the bad, flowing through
the municipal revenue stream. Because of what’s at stake, we’re constantly
looking for improvement- whether on the container side, the hauling side, or on
the awareness-education side.
That’s why a recent radio program entitled “The Pulse”
caught my attention while driving to a meeting recently. The piece, done by
journalist Paige Pfleger, talked about the recycling symbol that we’ve all come
to know over the last few decades and whether something new is needed.
The program included an interview with the guy who invented
the symbol for the first Earth Day back in 1970, a 23 year old college student
named Gary Anderson. Apparently he saw a
poster for a competition to come up with a symbol and what he made has been
with us ever since.
But the point of Pfleger’s piece is that while the “chasing
arrow symbol” served its purpose back in the day when recycling was relatively
limited in scope, today it may be time for something new- something to match
the scope of what can be recycled.
Because we may have outgrown the symbol, it’s a safe bet
that a lot of stuff ends up in the trash category that shouldn’t. And if that’s
true, it’s probably costing us a lot of money.
The radio program interviewed the manager of Omni Recycling
in Pitman NJ and the manager said that his operation pulls 150 tons of garbage
out of the recyclables each week- the equivalent in weight to 18 elephants
according to Paige Pfleger.
I’m not sure what percentage of our trash we recycle
nationwide, but it’s 59% in South Korea and 65% in Germany. I suspect we come
far short of that number, especially considering the fact that these countries
have a complete color-coded system and an entire education campaign to teach
citizens how and what to recycle.
This approach sounds like something that should be
nationwide here, but given the gridlock in DC and the food fight about global
warming, it’s not likely anything will happen soon. But maybe that’s where
states can pick up the slack.
Part of getting where we need to be is appreciating just how
much stuff gets a second and third life through recycling. I’m constantly
amazed how much of the stuff I buy is made from recycled plastics or paper-
it’s impressive.
Down at the community level, some serious attention to
expanding what we recycle in our disposable culture can mean less dumping in
our alleys and wooded areas- that’s needed also.
More than anything, a more robust recycling program means
some more revenue, or at least more savings for tax payers when it comes time
to negotiate hauling contracts with the companies that take our trash…and
that’s no small thing.