It is always amazing to me that Philadelphia is the sixth largest city in the U.S. and yet their “recycling program” recycles so little. I even put it in quotes because it’s more like a “trash diversion program” than it is recycling. Even the little middle-of-nowhere town of 8,600 people I came from (St. Johnsbury, VT) recycles more than Philadelphia. In fact, up until 3 years ago this city only collected recycling every other week and didn’t accept any plastics or cardboard curbside; there were a few places around the city where you could take plastics and cardboard between the hours of 9-11am on the first or third Saturdays of the month - really convenient. You can imagine the average resident did not participate. Around the same time the city started curbside collection of cardboard and plastic (by the way, this means #1 and #2 plastic BOTTLES only) they implemented an “all-in-one” collection program where everything goes in the same bin instead of needing separated. Author’s note: yes this saves space and eliminates hassle but it also eliminates consciousness. I’m still not sure which is better.

Education about recycling is also lacking. Most people are misinformed or simply do not know what is and is not recyclable. Part of the misinformation is that most items are indeed recyclable somewhere, just not in Philadelphia. The reason why certain things are not recyclable in Philadelphia is the city outsources its recycling to Blue Mountain Recycling who takes all the material to their processing plants. The city only pays for certain options, so while Blue Mountain Recycling does process compostables, Philadelphia does not pay them to collect and process compostables.

Here is the list of what Philadelphia recycles (and does not recycle):

Metal: Bi-metal cans (like food cans), aluminum cans (like soda cans), empty aerosol cans, empty paint cans.
NOTE: foil and household or scrap metal like wire hangers, pots, tools, curtain rods, small appliances, furniture faucets or nails are NOT recyclable; these items typically have higher melting points or food debris that disrupt the recycling process of the items listed above.

Glass: Jars and bottles (clear, brown, green)
NOTE: lightbulbs, tempered glass (like entertainment center doors or coffee table tops) and Pyrex are NOT recyclable; these glasses have added chemicals or coatings that contaminate the melting process.

Mixed Paper: Newspaper, magazines, catalogs, junk mail, advertising inserts, telephone books, food boxes (like cereal and cracker boxes – remove plastic liner), computer paper, flyers, and soda cartons.
NOTE: any paper that has food or other debris like dirt, grease or detergent on it are NOT recyclable; the added residues contaminate the recycling process and are considered “organics” which are compostable but that the city does not collect.

Plastic Containers: #1 and #2 plastic bottles ONLY (mostly beverage and detergent containers). These containers have narrow necks and wider bottoms. Check the underside of each container for the number 1 or 2. All container lids are recyclable, and best if removed from containers.
NOTE: Styrofoam, plastic bags, #1 and #2 plastic containers (like food containers) that are not bottles, and any other numbered plastics are NOT recyclable.

Cardboard: Empty and flattened.
NOTE: pizza boxes are NOT recyclable because they fall into that “organics” category; clean cardboard only.

When you start looking at how much you throw away, you start wishing more could be recycled. Things Philadelphia does not recycle that are recyclable in a lot of other places include: cartons and aseptic packaging (like milk cartons, juice boxes, and containers for soy milk or soup), aluminum foil, electronics, and ALL #1 and #2 plastics including food containers. Some people think if you just put more in the recycling bin someone will see how much stuff could be recycled and will eventually begin to process those items. That is simply not true and is actually more wasteful than putting those items in the trash. Just because it costs a company to sort out all the waste that ends up in the recycling stream doesn’t mean that it would be more profitable to invest in the necessary equipment and pay more laborers to process the additional items. The fact of the matter is that it takes more energy to transport the non-recyclable items and then sort them out of the recycling stream and back into the trash stream than just putting them into the trash stream to begin with. It’s disheartening, but if you’re passionate about wasting less the reality is you waste more when you put trash into the recycling bin.

My last gripe about recycling in Philadelphia is that businesses are required to hire a private collection company; the city does not collect recycling from businesses. This means that most buildings over 3 stories have their own private trash companies. In a utopia this could mean the property owners would hire companies who collect more recyclables than the municipal program but in reality this means property owners could hire companies that do not collect recycling at all. Yes recycling is THE LAW in Philadelphia, and most policy-makers believe that is an all-encompassing incentive to get people to recycle, but when a law is not enforced many people choose not to follow it. Businesses are required to submit recycling plans to the city, but if they don’t provide every tenant in their building with adequate facilities recycling simply doesn’t happen. I’ve talked with many people who work in high-rise buildings downtown who have said their offices do not recycle. Many property owners use space as an excuse: “We don’t have the space to increase our recycling facilities.” My former job used the same excuse, so I started my own desk-side recycling and once a month drove to work to bring home the paper, glass bottles, and plastic that I had set aside. Other people caught on and began asking me if they could contribute to my mini-recycling program. I was suddenly hauling 2-3 huge trash bags full of recycling back to my house every couple of weeks when my boss approached me and asked if I could look into getting recycling bins for the office and he would look into getting Waste Management to incorporate recycling into our collection program. Within a month of our office-wide recycling program, Waste Management replaced our trash dumpster with one half the size. The recycling dumpster combined with our trash dumpster equaled the previous footprint of just the trash dumpster. The space already exists.

I grew up with a mom who recycled, composted, or re-used EVERYTHING. Very little got put in the “trash.” So this mentality is part of who I am. If a town of 8,600 can do it, a city of 1.4 million can do it. C’mon Philly; everyone wants you to!

Links to more information about recycling in Philadelphia:
Recycling Pays
Philadelphia Streets Department
Philadelphia Recycling Alliance
Secure data and e-waste recycling
Household Hazardous Waste (paint, pesticides, fertilizers, cleaning solvents, rechargeable computer and cell phone batteries, automotive products, etc)