What happens to recycled material?

One question many people have asked since citizens are no longer asked to sort recyclables into separate bins is "How does it all get sorted?"

Here's the recycling process.

Collection

Material is placed in one recycling container and is collected with one truck from your curbside.

Sorting

Material is taken to the contractor's sorting facility where it passes down a conveyor belt and workers hand-sort materials into different commodities (paper, plastic bottles, aluminum, tin, etc.).

Transporting to end users

Recyclable material is baled and shipped by rail cars to different markets that will process it into a usable material. Non-recyclable material and items that are not accepted in our recycling program are sorted out. Items such as glass, yard waste and food waste will be transported by rail or truck to a landfill.

Reprocessing

Recyclables are then reprocessed into usable goods. For example, aluminum is sold to a smelter that will melt the aluminum into sheets, then sell it back to companies that will make aluminum cans or other aluminum goods out of it.

Buying recycled

Close the loop! To help recycling succeed, buy goods with the most post-consumer recycling content. If an item has post-consumer recycling content, it will most likely be found on the package.