Plastic is like trees: it’s everywhere, and you know it when you see it, but you probably can’t explain the difference between types. And why would you be able to? Life is complicated enough without having to commit to memory the ways that HDPE differs from LDPE; unless, of course, you work in the plastics...Continue Reading

Your intentions may be good, but your recycling practices may not be – and it’s time to change that. The term “wish-cycling” was coined to describe the phenomenon of people recycling things that they think or hope can be recycled. The pizza box made of cardboard (covered in grease), the plastic peanut butter jar (still...Continue Reading

So you’re starting a renovation or demolition project. You (or the crew you hire) are going to be generating a huge amount of waste, and even a dozen waste bins will get filled up quickly. Having a roll-off container parked outside is the best, most efficient way to collect it all. Before finalizing arrangements for...Continue Reading

Big Business and Food Waste Earlier this year, the Center for Biological Diversity analyzed the food waste practices of 10 major grocery store chains. The report’s authors gave each store a letter grade based on its accountability, prevention and recovery/recycling efforts around food waste. Only one chain, Walmart, was awarded a B. The other nine...Continue Reading

Have you visited a preschool classroom lately? They’re filled with little scientists running experiments. Give a preschooler a few magnets and he’ll probably try to stick them to wooden blocks, books, stuffed animals or his own body – with no luck, of course. It doesn’t take long for kids to figure out that magnets only...Continue Reading

Have you ever ordered something tiny, only for it to arrive at your door in a huge box? The rise of next-day shipping and Amazon Prime has simplified holiday gift buying and errand-running for most of us – but it sure has added to our consumption of cardboard and paper products. Clearly, online shopping is...Continue Reading

The closing of a glass manufacturing plant in Milford probably didn’t much interest the average Massachusetts consumer, but that closure marked the end of an era – and exemplified the way the glass recycling market has changed. Ardagh, which manufactured glass bottles, closed its plant in March. It was the major customer of the Strategic...Continue Reading

Most people have heard the news of China’s 2018 National Sword policy, and how this is negatively impacting recycling markets throughout the world. You may not be aware of how and why this is impacting single stream recycling programs, not only for companies but also for nationwide U.S. municipal programs. Single stream recycling began as...Continue Reading

Anyone who has substituted those tubes of cookie dough for Mom’s homemade recipe knows that taking the easiest route isn’t always worth the effort it saves. That’s the case with single-stream recycling – but unfortunately, the people who take the shortcuts often don’t realize the consequences. What Works About Single-Stream Single-stream recycling (the practice of throwing...Continue Reading