Much has been said recently regarding the recycling commodity markets. It is common knowledge now that China shut their borders to all recyclable mixed paper and low grade plastics in January of 2018, and lowered contamination levels to almost unachievable levels on cardboard. Since then it has become considerably more difficult to market recyclables. And...Continue Reading

Life in America certainly hasn’t been boring these last few years. It’s become hard to predict what the future has in store, and a lot of industries are a little unstable right now. Metal recycling is no exception. Consumers and businesses who drop off their scrap at the local recycler may notice the prices they’re...Continue Reading

Quick: does April 22nd mean anything to you? If the date doesn’t sound significant, you’re not alone. Earth Day is held on April 22nd every year, although it’s unlikely that many Americans have committed that fact to memory. It’s not a holiday in the traditional sense; mail delivery continues as usual and kids don’t get...Continue Reading

Is the recycling industry coming to an end? Why all this talk? For the past few years you may have noticed any number of media articles addressing the downturn of the recycling markets. Some have even gone so far as to state that recycling is coming to an end.  Is the recycling industry, something that...Continue Reading

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