where does Somerville recycling go?

[elusiveat]

In contrast with lots of places in the U.S., Somerville still has a pretty comprehensive list of items that can be put out for curbside recycling:
https://www.somervillema.gov/sites/default/files/environmental-service-guide.pdf

Does anybody know where this stuff actually ends up?

There's been a lot of media coverage of how U.S. recycling has been disrupted by China turning away recycling, but it's not clear to me how this plays out for Somerville. The stuff I've found online about Massachusetts recycling indicates 1) that recycling is getting *more expensive* for municipalities, and 2) that contamination of recycling with non-recyclables is a bigger problem than it used to be. I haven't found anything either confirming that uncontaminated recycling will actually get recycled *or* stating that it won't.

Does anybody have good information on whether our "recyclables" are actually being recycled, where this recycling is happening geographically, or what they get recycled into?

Comments

[3rdragon]

I don't know either, though I've also wondered. I keep expecting an email with a list of stuff we can't recycle anymore, but so far nothing. In terms of trash, I suspect that our waste goes to Wheelaborator in Saugus, because a lot of other local towns send theirs there, but don't have any actual evidence for that either.

If you want more general MA info, I've found this site interesting: https://www.wastedive.com/news/what-chinese-import-policies-mean-for-all-50-states/510751/
It doesn't say anything about Somerville, though.

[elusiveat]

Thanks.

I'm really curious about how all of this is shaking out. I feel like the site you link to is more information for municipalities to decide how to handle things then information for residents to make sense of the whole thing. And still, the focus seems to be in increased costs and avoidance of contamination. I do think I saw something somewhere about China rejecting recycling loads that were more than _% contaminated, so I wonder if partly it's not so much "China won't recycle anymore" as "China is insisting on higher standards." I think I also saw something about some places in the U.S. stockpiling theoretically recyclable materials until such time as the market changes again.

I feel like things ought to be clearer than they are!

[3rdragon]

I wonder if partly it's not so much "China won't recycle anymore" as "China is insisting on higher standards."

That's my understanding. Something like, "Most US MRFs can only produce 95% uncontaminated recycling, and Chinese recyclers are insisting on 98% uncontaminated" (numbers made up, though not totally off the wall) and because all of our plants aimed for 95%, we don't have anywhere capable of producing 98%. I've also heard that other countries may be looking to step into the gap, but of course it takes time to ramp up production and that's not a sustainable solution either.

[pru]

This is a good question. I too would really like to know.

Response from the OSE

[beinneighe]

I was curious too, so I reached out to my councilor (Ben Ewen-Campen), who reached out to Oliver Sellers-Garcia (the Director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment), pointing him to this thread. He responded:

> Thanks for your email. I’ve looked at the questions in the discussion, and it’s always great to see more curiosity about this topic. Somerville’s zero-sort recycling is sent to the Cassella processing facility in Charlestown, as is the case with almost all communities in the Boston metro area. It’s actually quite hard to know exactly where each item or type of material ends up. Recycling companies like Casella are operating in a dynamic market. Their business model is to find the most competitive prices for recycling materials at any given point, and this changes often, even before China’s standards disrupted the market. I often explain it as the reverse of a supermarket: there are always apples in stock, but where they come from, the prices, and even the varieties vary over the course of the year.

> We are in regular contact with Casella and our neighboring municipalities to monitor the changes in the recycling market. What we know is that so far Casella has by and large been able to find alternatives to the Chinese market. In addition, that state has worked with all recycling processors in MA to standardize the items that can and can’t be recycled. The best resource for Somerville residents to know what can be put in the recycling bin is the waste wizard, and there’s more info on the City website. Severely contaminated materials that end up at Casella (e.g., plastic container full of food) are separated and disposed of as trash. But, companies like Casella do not throw recyclable material in the trash simply because there is no immediate buyer; it is generally stored until a buyer is found. With some notable exceptions (e.g., glass) most material isn’t endlessly reusable. For example, recycling a plastic yogurt container is much better than throwing it in the trash, but the material will likely be used for a less durable product. That’s why it’s so important to think about reducing and reusing before recycling.

Re: Response from the OSE

[elusiveat]

Oh, awesome. Thanks!

[vonelftinhaus]

Not completely related to the "where does it go" question but I recall seeing this recently

http://apps.npr.org/plastics-recycling/



I do remember the city would accept shredded paper in plastic shopping bags ( seems weird to put paper in the plastic) but when I last looked at the city website they do not accept it.
Anyone know of a place for shredded paper?

[elusiveat]

Thanks for the link.

I unfortunately don't have good answer on shredded paper. I was going to suggest composting it, but office paper has weird chemicals in it that mean that might not be the best idea:
https://www.planetnatural.com/composting-paper/

[vonelftinhaus]

Another related link for recycling

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/12/760128833/waste-examines-the-global-and-local-afterlife-of-recyclables