Alexa Kielty: Plastic Lids - Yes; Diapers - No

The key to San Francisco's recycling success is our ability to find markets for the recyclable products we pick up from residents and businesses. If there were nobody making paper out of recycled fiber, then all that paper we collect would end up in the landfill. So, SF Environment and our partners at Norcal Waste Systems work hard to maintain existing relationships and build new ones. 

When we identify markets for products that we haven't previously collected, we can increase the number of products we can collect curbside. A couple of years ago, we collected only a couple types of plastic bottles because they were the only kind of bottles that were practical to recyclable at the time. But as technology developed to make it easier to recycle other types of plastic, we found manufacturers that would take all types of plastic bottles. 

Now, we are pleased to add plastic tubs and lids to the ever-increasing list of products we accept. Check beneath the tub or lid and if you see the numbers 2, 4 or 5 in what looks like a "recycle" symbol, then you can put it in your blue cart, along with plastic bottles, aluminum and tin/steel cans, empty metal paint and aerosol cans, foil and pie tins, glass bottles and jars, cardboard and paper products. Just make sure the containers are empty and you've eaten or composted any leftover food.

The plastic tubs and lids go to a local manufacturer that makes a durable garden-edging product called Bend-A-Board. Plastic items collected in San Francisco also get made into auto parts, carpeting, plastic lumber, clothing and, of course, new plastic bottles. It's good to buy products made from recycled content because it allows us to maintain a market for the recyclables we collect.

In San Francisco, you can put paper, bottles and cans together in your blue cart. The materials go to SF Recycling & Disposal's "recycle central" facility at Pier 96, where materials are sorted both mechanically and manually on conveyor belts. Paper floats over a bed of spinning disks, while heavier bottles and cans fall through gaps between the wheels.

Some items, like plastic bags, nylon stockings, clothing and other textiles, latex gloves, coat hangers, food, diapers and golf balls can cause real problems in our sorting system and must never go into the blue cart. Problem materials often have to be sorted out by hand, which is expensive and can increase equipment downtime.

Even though we try to do our best to sort out all of the problem materials, it's inevitable that with the hundreds of tons of material we go through every day we'll miss something. End users of our products are picky about quality and will sometimes reject entire loads if they find contaminants.

So please help us out by putting the right stuff in the blue cart. Put disposable diapers in the black cart and donate usable clothing and textiles to thrift stores. Reuse plastic bags when you shop and deposit worn ones in the recycling receptacle inside the front of most supermarkets. Compost food scraps with yard trimmings and soiled paper in your green cart. This saves natural resources, cuts waste, helps us recycle and compost all we can, keeps the sorting facilities running smoothly and enables our end markets to continue making high-quality products.

Alexa Kielty coordinates recycling programs for SF Environment. Learn more about how the City is working to make a safer, healthier environment at www.sfenvironment.com, visit the EcoCenter at 11 Grove St. or call (415) 355-3700.