Earth Day Tips

With over seven different kinds of plastics, knowing which can be recycled in the Flathead is important. When plastics aren't properly sorted, recycling businesses lose money and improperly sorted plastic ends up in the county landfill, an expense tax payers want to avoid.

The Flathead County Landfill is filling at a rate faster than expected. This is in part due to population growth and also due to an increased use of disposable products, many of which could be recycled. Patricia Franklin of the national Container Recycling Institute notes that national recycling rates for plastic beverage containers have fallen from 53 percent in 1994 to 19 percent in 2003. She attributes this in part to the incredible increase in bottled water sales, from 3.3 billion in 1997, to 15 billion in 2002. With strong markets for recycled plastics, both locally and nationally, it makes no sense to bury this valuable resource in an expensive landfill.

Two simple rules follow for plastic recycling; if it is a plastic beverage container with a neck and it's translucent like a milk bottle (no solid colors) with a #2 on the bottom, it's locally recyclable. If it's a plastic container (not just bottles), clear like glass (tinted is ok) with a #1 on the bottom, it's also locally recyclable.

There are exceptions to these rules. Similar looking plastics are often not made of the same type of plastic and thus have different numbers on the bottom. For example some #2 and #5 plastics look and feel virtually identical.

To be recyclable a plastic has to be valued for reprocessing into a new plastic product. Unfortunately, even when #2 plastic tubs are collected separately, they have relatively little value. A similar problem exists for most solid colored plastics. Remember to always remove lids and put them in the trash; the lids are usually different plastic.

Want an Earth Day challenge? Sort the plastics that you use by number for a few days. You will probably be surprised with how similar some plastics look. That is why careful sorting is so important. Give yourself extra credit if you find a plastic made from corn starch. This is a new product that looks like a #1 plastic, but unlike plastic it will decompose over time. Remember also to look at plastic bags (often a #2 or #4 plastic) and egg cartons (often a #6 plastic), which can be recycled at local grocery stores. The only bags that can be recycled are the ones your groceries get packed in.

For more information on recycling in our area, call the Waste Not Project at 756-8993. Happy Earth Day!