- Do you ever go to throw something away and do a little hesitation dance between the trash and recycling?

I mean, it's got the triangle on it, but it's plastic.

And are all types of plastics recyclable?

And it's got something in it, but I don't have anywhere to rinse it off.

And even if I did, can I recycle something that's wet?

I guess I could just put it in anyway.

But does that contaminate the entire load and ruin my neighbor's efforts of saving the planet?

Yeah.

You are not alone.

I'm Brooke Butler, and welcome to "What Do I Do With This?"

the show that untangles the mess of modern waste so you don't have to.

In this episode, we're demystifying household recycling.

So let's start with the obvious.

Recycling is confusing.

And it's not really our fault.

(bright synth music) When recycling programs started taking off in the 1970s due to overwhelming amounts of trash in landfills, the goal wasn't necessarily to make it easy for individuals.

It was more about shifting responsibility away from corporations and on to consumers.

Today, it's an industry worth billions of dollars.

And yet we still have major landfill issues, wreaking havoc on our environment.

So you might be wondering if it's so confusing and time-consuming, and our planet still needs saving, why even bother with recycling?

Because it does make a big difference.

(lively music) When we recycle, we reduce the need to extract natural resources, like timber, water, and minerals.

That means less damage to our ecosystems and more resources left for future generations.

It also fights climate change.

In 2018 alone, recycling and composting in the US saved the equivalent of over 193 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

That's like taking 42 million cars off the road for a year.

Recycling isn't just good for the environment, it's good for the economy.

It supports 681,000 jobs, generates $37.8 billion in wages, and brings in $5.5 billion in tax revenue each year in the US.

And if you're one of the many people who have suspicions about whether or not your single-stream recycling is actually getting recycled, it is.

Don't believe me?

Take a look for yourself.

(lively music) If you recycle, there's a good chance it's processed through Republic Services.

And you might just be able to spot some of it here at one of their recycling center locations.

It's a little overwhelming but also reassuring to see so many materials are being recycled.

- Basically, the trends that we're seeing is more people are recycling, which we love.

- Oh.

Great.

Stephen Wortmann is the recycling coordinator at Republic Services, and he gave us an inside look into the single-stream recycling process.

This is what I imagine Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory would be like.

- So this is the tip floor.

This is kind of where it all starts.

The trucks will come in and dump over here, and we'll have a big tractor that'll put it into the drum, which starts the process.

After we dump it all in there, the drum itself starts to filter so that everything doesn't come all at once for the sorters.

So one of the other machines that helps sort is an optical sorter.

So what this one does, you have cardboard, paper, and then, if anything made it through and it shouldn't have, it puts it back on the line.

So any plastics that may have made its way to this machine, but it sorts it out.

And it's got a UV, so it identifies if it's cardboard, if it's paper, so it sorts it out that way.

Wow.

So it's not someone in there?

- No, no, no, no, no, no.

- It's technology, magic.

- Absolutely.

Absolutely.

- Wow.

(bright organ music) But there are very important human elements of sorting after the machines take a pass, essentially just pulling things off that don't belong.

They see some interesting stuff.

But the main culprit?

Plastic bags.

- You know, like your Schnucks bags, your Walmart bags, your Target bags, just those plastic bags in general, those get caught in our machines.

And then when those get caught in the machines, we have to cut those out.

So it really inhibits what we have to do in our day-to-day process here.

So this is another optical sorter.

This one does very similar to what the paper one does.

It just does it for plastics.

- Okay.

- So it gets to number twos, like your milk jugs, your laundry detergent, bottles, those kind of things.

So it shoots those over, and then all the other plastics continue to go down.

- Now, what about the caps on those?

- So, the caps are a different type of plastic.

But the thing is we also want things in 3D.

It helps us... - So when people recycle, do you recommend they crush things?

- No.

- No.

Keep it - Keep it kind of loose and keep it more 3D for us.

- Got it.

- [Stephen] So... - [Brooke] And everything gets baled?

- Everything gets baled.

So everything has its own bin.

So when that bin is full or it's ready to be baled, we open the bin and then just that commodity comes out.

So your milk jugs or just your water bottles, or your aluminum.

- Yeah, so we kind of obviously have an idea of where it's coming from, from the people, from the people using all these items and want to recycle.

Where does it go?

- It's done domestically.

So we have different partners that'll come through that we kind of partner with.

So aluminum will go to a certain area, plastics to go a different area.

And then same thing with metal.

So each place... Glass to Chicago.

Just different places.

- [Brooke] Yeah.

Historically, processed recyclables were exported internationally.

But since 2018, the National Sword policy restricts the import of solid waste, including recyclable materials to China, due to high amounts of contamination, particularly with paper and plastics.

There are still many challenges, but also great efforts to strengthen the market for these recycled materials in the United States.

(lively piano music) And there are standards in place.

I mean, just because, like, how do you know that they're not just going to the landfill and dumping it in?

But there are certain standards in place to ensure that doesn't happen.

- Absolutely.

The things that do end up in the landfill are those bags.

The contamination is our biggest issue that we have to overcome.

- In the city of St. Louis, nearly 40% of waste is actually recyclable, and yet only about 10% gets recycled.

That doesn't seem like a lot, but just at this one location of Republic Services Recycling Center, nearly 300 tons of material gets delivered every day.

Now, not all of that is recycled due to contamination and, frankly, people just not following the rules of single-stream recycling.

So what are those rules?

Glad you asked.

Let's talk about the do's and don'ts of recycling.

First of all, be suspicious of that little triangle.

The Mobius loop, aka the chasing arrows triangle, looks like it means this is recyclable, but it doesn't always mean that.

If there's a percentage next to it, that refers to the amount of recycled material it's made with.

But if it's just there, remember to stick with the six.

Paper.

And if you are worried about your personal information, you can recycle shredded paper.

Just make sure to put it in a paper bag first.

Cardboard.

Amazon who?

Never heard of her.

But if those smiling boxes are frequent visitors at your doorstep, flatten them first, but no need to take off the tape or labels.

Plastic bottles and containers.

Plastic.

The number on the bottom of those items are called the Resin Identification Code, and it refers to the type of plastic it's made out of.

It's true that ones and twos are most easily recyclable, but you can recycle them all.

Glass bottles and jars.

If it's broken or has sharp edges, it belongs in the trash.

Metal.

Metal!

Keep the tabs on and resist the urge to crush it.

(gentle jazz music) (cans clinking) Food and beverage cartons.

Unless it was holding...

Unless it was holding something hot or cold, then it may have this waxy stuff on the inside, and that's not recyclable.

And when in doubt, throw it out.

Don't be a wish-cycler.

Aspirational recycling, aka throwing something in the recycling bin in hopes it can be recycled, can actually contaminate entire batches.

Of course, it's not always that easy.

Cleaning out peanut butter jars?

Gross.

What if something has plastic and cardboard?

What if it rains and everything in my bin gets wet?

Who's going to answer all these specific questions?

(lively music) So, recycling is confusing, to say the least.

But there are many people working to help educate the public on what to do with all their stuff.

And one of those people is Jean Corbett with Brightside St. Louis.

Hi, Jean.

- Hi, Brooke.

- So tell us about Brightside.

- So Brightside is a local cleaning and greening organization.

We work for the city of St. Louis on local initiatives to keep the city as clean as possible while also doing public education.

- And here we're in the demo garden, as you call it.

Tell us about that.

- Yeah.

so this demonstration garden was started over a decade ago in partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation to show residents how beautiful native plants can actually be and how they can incorporate these plants into their own landscapes, both in the public spaces of St. Louis City and in their homes.

- [Brooke] And how does that relate to recycling?

Or does it?

- So one of the things that Brightside St. Louis does is we have the recycling education and outreach program for the city of St. Louis.

It's called St. Louis City Recycles.

And that relates to the garden and all of the other programming we do about cleaning up litter, because we want to keep St. Louis clean and green.

- You have an app now that you use to make that process easier.

Tell us about the app.

- It's very exciting.

It's called Recycle Coach.

It's both in the city and the county.

So all residents in the region can use Recycle Coach to find out where an item would go when they're ready to dispose of it.

So they can just take a picture, say, "Where does it go?"

and it will give them all the information they need.

- Now, okay, I have to be honest, when I go on the St. Louis City Recycles webpage and I go through that long, long list of items and what to do with, very rarely does it say landfill is the most appropriate.

I mean, how realistic is that to have a residents follow those procedures and recommendations?

- Once folks understand why things don't need to go in the landfill, if they can be recycled or reused or donated, it's really easy to incorporate that into your daily life.

- [Brooke] And do you see a correlation between educating the public and better recycling habits?

- Absolutely.

Yeah.

We know for sure that the more education the public receives about recycling and in general about the larger waste management ecosystem, then they understand what best to do with their items.

And one of our mottoes we like to... A tagline we like to use all the time is, "Small steps, big impacts."

So, every single person can make small steps, and in general, overall, it makes a larger impact.

So that's what we're going for.

- Yes.

- [Brooke] That's what it's all about.

- So the app is pretty handy for those who have time for and access to recycling, which about 85% of single-family households do in the US.

But nearly 40 million households do not have easy access, particularly those living in apartments and in rural areas.

There are efforts to improve recycling access, but as we learned at Washington University, that's just one piece of the sustainability puzzle.

Okay.

So let's talk sustainability.

I feel like that term is kind of like a buzzword almost now, as like an all-encompassing term to talk about environmentally-friendly practices.

But tell us what sustainability really means.

That's Froggi VanRipper, Washington University lecturer on all things sustainability.

- That is such a great question.

I go a little past the Brundtland Commission definition which was, you know, "to steward our resources for future generations."

Right?

- [Brooke] Right.

- And I like to use the Natural Step Framework by Karl-Henrik Robert.

(lively music) - The natural Step Framework gives us four science-based rules for sustainable living.

One, don't dig up more stuff from the earth than the planet has to offer.

Two, stop making chemicals and plastics that nature can't break down.

Three, don't wreck nature by overusing or damaging land, water, and ecosystems.

And four, build a world where people can meet their basic needs fairly, safely, and with dignity.

Is that our responsibility?

Or whose responsibility is it?

- I love that.

Yeah, that's such a philosophical question with a lot of different perspectives on it.

And you know, I do think that the onus is on us, once we know, to remain aware, right?

Once we know something's an issue, to remain aware.

But also, and I focus on this with my students a lot, how much of the system is so far beyond your individual control.

- Absolutely.

- And there's a sweet spot, and I'm not sure what it is, between feeling hopeless and feeling fully responsible.

Because, you know, hopeless is gonna get us nowhere.

- Right.

- And taking the full responsibility upon ourselves is neither practical nor possible.

- Right.

- You know, I by myself have only so much efficacy.

Myself in concert with other students in a club or other colleagues in a staff organization, or with my community members in a government organization or advocacy group, or maybe as a representative of government, I have the capacity to influence more and more and more.

And so what is the largest sphere of influence where you can plug in and actually make a difference at the systemic level?

Try and find that and plug into it, and then make that your responsibility.

Talking sustainability is a lot more intense than I thought.

Market values, economics, corporate responsibility, all important stuff.

But sometimes you just wanna do something about our material overload.

And I'm not talking about reducing what you buy and recycling what you have.

What about that middle step, reuse?

I know a place for that.

(bright orchestral music) - Perennial is a creative reuse hub in St. Louis, Missouri.

And our mission is about building a creative culture of reuse where discarded items are transformed into cherished resources.

Creative reuse for all.

(bright orchestral music) (animation dings) We offer almost 300 classes a year.

We really look for things that have a double objective.

So it has to have a creative objective and a sustainability objective.

After someone has taken a few classes at Perennial or come to workshops at a library or seen us out at a festival, that they're sort of building up this little magic trick, which is you look at materials differently after you see what they can be repurposed into.

So some really great examples of that that we use every day in the workshop are old t-shirts.

We turn those into yarn.

We use them for rags.

They're great for ties.

We turn them into kind of stretchy rope material.

And that's just a new way of looking at something that might otherwise, once you're done wearing it, you might think, "Oh, there's no more use for this."

And they can start to apply that to anything that's about to go in their trash can and just think, "Wait.

Could I use this for something else?"

We're always finding new ways to use scrap paper and old books that might be thrown away.

We use metal baking pans for different molds.

Basically, anything that we can think of a new creative use for, we're excited to show it to other people.

The demand for what we're doing has really increased in the last decade as well.

While you might get something faster and maybe even cheaper from a box store, it doesn't have the character in it, you don't have a relationship with it, which is kind of how we came to this throwaway culture where it's easy to toss something out or donate it, because you don't really have an investment in it.

So, I think I'm really encouraged by the people that come in the door every day who are like, "No, I wanna learn.

I know it's a little bit harder.

I know it's gonna take me a little bit more time.

But I am excited about the end result and the journey along the way too."

Because chances are, if you don't know how to do something, you're gonna meet somebody that does, and that makes it really great.

- Thanks for watching this episode of "What Do I Do With This?"

And I hope recycling is a little less mysterious now.

This episode is a part of PBS's Earth Month lineup, which includes a bunch of great new episodes celebrating our amazing planet and the creatures that live on it.

We really enjoyed looking at this latest episode of "Deep Look" about jumping spiders.

(lively jazz music) Pretty cool stuff.

There's links to that episode and PBS's full Earth Month playlist in the description.

(lively jazz music) Do you have a topic that you want to know what to do with?

Do you have any sustainability tips and tricks that you wanna share with us?

Let us know and find more resources at ninepbs.org/what-do-I-do-with-t?

- [Producer] You'll be off camera by the end of that, right?

- Yeah.

Yeah.

(lively jazz music) (Brooke chuckles) There's a lot of fun stuff there.

You can check it out.

(lively jazz music) Check it out.

(lively jazz music) The end.

(lively jazz music) Is that it?