Spokane County recycling is increasing

Spokane County residents recycled almost half of their garbage last year.

According to the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, residents recycled 282,348 tons of their 622,881 tons of garbage – 45 percent.

That compares with 20 percent in 1987, the first year for which statistics were kept, and an average of 41 percent over the past decade, officials said.

The rate is expected to rise when this year’s figures are tabulated because of expanded curbside recycling service in unincorporated areas, recycling coordinator Suzanne Tresko said in a news release.

The recycling totals for 2006 included 48,774 tons of composted yard waste, 54,000 tons of cardboard and paper fiber, 47,356 tons of wood from commercial construction projects and 78,018 tons of ferrous metal – 8,377 tons of which was recovered from ash at the waste-to-energy plant.

Excluding recycled materials and about 65,000 tons of garbage that was hauled to a landfill at Goldendale, Wash., 275,490 tons of waste was burned last year to generate 179,121 megawatt hours of electricity and nearly $12.1 million of income.

“We are definitely encouraged by these numbers,” Tresko said. “They tell us that residents and businesses are eager to do the right thing by recycling.”

The achievement came despite restrictions on what can be recycled and a lot of rules:

“Only two of seven categories of plastic are accepted, and not all colors. Plastic bottles can’t have necks larger than their bases.

“Glass bottles and jars are OK, but only if brown, green or clear. No drinking glasses, thank you.

“Newspapers, yes; junk mail between the pages, no. Corrugated cardboard is welcome, but only if bundled in pieces no larger than 2 feet square.

“No plastic bags unless there’s a cell phone or some household batteries inside. Magazines need to be inside a brown paper bag.

Tresko wasn’t available for comment about the fussier aspects of curbside recycling, but Solid Waste System contract manager Damon Taam said help may be on its way.

“We’re reviewing our rules and making sure the rules we have established are for a purpose and they’re not just something that was done in the past and is not necessary anymore,” Taam said.

For example, he said, officials are reconsidering the need to remove bottle caps or to peel labels from plastic bottles and tin cans.

As for that unenforced rule about removing both ends of tin cans and flattening them, “it’s hopefully coming out in a little bit,” Taam said.

But people are still encouraged to squish the open end of cans to reduce space and keep other things from getting inside, he said.

The list of things accepted for curbside recycling also is under review, Taam said. Some things with limited recyling value, such as fluorescent bulbs and scrap metal, are accepted only at transfer stations to reduce handling costs, but markets are improving.

Also, Taam said, Spokane and Kootenai county waste-management officials are discussing the feasibility of a regional “material recovery facility” that could expand recycling options. Materials would be separated centrally instead of by recycling-truck drivers.

Recycling more plastic products remains a challenge. Plastic doesn’t weigh much, but takes up a lot of space when it is shipped to recycling centers that pay by the pound.

Adding to the problem, there are “over 22 types, and they’re not all very compatible” – including some that are lumped into seven official recycling categories, Taam said.

Reducing the varieties of plastic is easier said than done because different uses require different characteristics, Taam said.

For example, he said, high-density polyethylene keeps chemicals from leaching into milk but stretches when it gets warm; PVC leaches chemicals, but doesn’t deteriorate when used in pipe; PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) withstands the pressure of fizzy drinks.

Fortunately, all plastics burn well, he said.

While Spokane County has little ability to encourage manufacturers to make their products more recyclable, Taam said Washington state took on the consumer electronics industry and won an agreement to make computers and similar products recyclable in 2009.

“We’re seeing more and more producer responsibility,” he added. “We’re seeing industries take it upon themselves to make sure their stuff gets recycled.”

That’s why most batteries are now mercury-free and household batteries can be accepted for curbside recycling, Taam said. Cellular telephones, too.

Batteries need to be put in a plastic sack for the sake of convenience. Taam didn’t know why cell phones also have to be bagged.

That rule about no plastic bottles with necks larger than their bases is another mystery.

“I don’t know,” Taam said. “I don’t know if there is any bottle like that. That would be a difficult bottle.”