The Warren Report
A Recycling Update

   In a recent conversation with Warren Waller of R&W Recycling, it’s apparent the challenge in the industry is not getting people to recycle. The challenge is finding a market for all that STUFF we generate on our trips. There’s no money in plastics; they just bail it up and deliver it to Basha’s. Basha’s bails it up and sends it somewhere and eventually it winds up in China where prison laborers get a whack at it. Whoa! Glass has to go to California or Colorado etc., etc., etc… The good news is they’ll persevere if we will. We get pretty darn good marks for our efforts but there’s always room for improvement. R&W’s main requests are:

   1) Please keep steel and aluminum separated! After they weigh aluminum bags and find steel in there later, it throws a #10 Monkey Wrench in the works.

   2) Precycle: Cut back on plastics wherever possible. Stay clear of colored and frosted glass. Watch for and request the new thin-walled extruded steel cans for pop and beer.

   3) Companies are urged to streamline their pre-sort pick up areas. If R&W can distinguish different materials AND they are uniformly steel, clear glass etc., it saves them lots of time. And… Warren says, Thank you!

Tim Whitney