Due to major changes to foreign trade policies (namely China’s “National Sword” policy), the secondary commodities market (recycled materials) has experienced a significant negative impact. Accordingly, the County, based on discussions with the haulers and analysis and research of data volunteered by haulers, entered into an agreement amendment effective January 1, 2020 that authorized a percentage surcharge in monthly rates to mitigate the falling out of the markets. A major factor in the decline of the markets is because of “recycling contamination,” a large portion of which is caused by customers/residents. Placing trash and/or nonrecyclable items in the cart/bin such as dirty diapers, garden hoses, car parts, plastic toys, plastic clothing hangers, unrinsed food containers, etc. is considered contamination. Many of the non-recyclable items are the product of what is called “wish-cycling” which is when a product is placed in a recycling container by a customer/resident solely because it is made of a material such as plastic, and not because it has actual value on the back end of the material processing chain and markets. All these small contaminants affect the final rate of contamination, which is set at extremely low tolerances for acceptance (at one point in China, the tolerance rate was 0.5%). Upon inspection by foreign trade partners at ports of entry, entire bales or shipments of recyclable materials would be rejected and sent back to the United States, causing huge losses to processors, brokers, and ultimately haulers. This Recycling Surcharge is capped at 5% and is set to be in place for the next five years, ending June 30, 2025. At that time, the County will reevaluate the merits of the Recycling Surcharge.

Pizza boxes are one of those items that frequently confuse the public. They are made of cardboard, which is usually recyclable. However, any type of grease, oil, or food/cheese remnant renders them useless for recycling. Within the next few years, the State of California has mandated organics diversion programs (green waste, food waste, food soiled paper and cardboard, etc.). Pizza boxes have the potential to become part of the organics waste stream as it will decompose over time through composting processes.

Many of these items are what are referred to as “plastic film.” Simply, it is plastic material that is manufactured very thin to be used as seals on food containers, raw material for plastic shopping bags, bread bags, tortilla bags, produce bags, etc. It is not easily recycled, and many times causes difficulties at the Material Recovery Facilities (abbreviated as “MRF” or “MRFs”) that recyclables are delivered to by solid waste and recycling haulers. MRFs employ automated systems when sorting recyclables and plastic bags tend to get jammed and intertwined in the conveyors and sorting machinery, often causing production stoppages to remove the bags, or breakdowns of equipment. This can lead to increased costs, lost productivity, missed sales, and ultimately increased service costs to the customer. Just because many of the plastic film-based items are not recyclable, does not mean that they cannot be reused or repurposed for something else around the house. For instance, many of the bags could be used to dispose of pet waste, dirty diapers, alternate trash bags, or storage bags for other non-food items in your house, etc. Bubble wrap can be reused to protect items being shipped, or when packing away fragile items such as fine china, glassware, etc.

Some items like fast food beverage lids, are usually not recyclable because they are made of #6 plastic, which is Polystyrene. Polystyrene is more commonly seen in the form of Styrofoam. Styrofoam is not recyclable and has to be discarded as there are no viable recycling programs for Styrofoam and #6 plastics currently.

The main plastics most desirable in recycling programs are #1 and #2 plastic. #1 plastic is Polyethylene Terephthalate (aka PET or PETE). This is most commonly in the form of beverage containers, especially the clear plastic water bottles. #2 plastic is High Density Polyethylene (aka HDPE), and is most seen in the form of laundry detergent bottles, milk jugs, juice jugs, etc. Plastic containers such as sour cream containers, plastic salad dressing bottles are almost always recyclable and are usually made of either PET, or miscellaneous plastics #3 - #7. It is always best to check for the “chasing arrows” and the number on the bottom or side of these plastic products before placing in the recycling cart or bin. Many recycling programs in Fresno County and California accept #3, #4, #5, and #7 plastics. The best practice for all food and beverage containers is to wipe, rinse, and dry before placing in your recycling container.

Milk and juice cartons are what are called “aseptic packaging.” These are recyclable and should be opened at the top, rinsed out, and allowed to dry prior to being placed in the recycling container.