We're Turning Twenty! With your support, we have grown from a small grassroots start-up to a regionally recognized waste prevention organization. THANK YOU!! Looking to the future, we have big plans to work with you to expand our waste reduction, recycling, reuse, and educational programs.   To kick off our Twenty-year anniversary, please consider making a gift that incorporates the number 20 in some way. Any gift is important to Methow Recycles’ continued success and growth of our programs. We are genuinely a community effort! I am truly humbled by the community that surrounds Methow Recycles and the passion to create a better tomorrow through the lens of waste reduction and recycling. I look forward to working with you to create our future! With gratitude, Sarah Jo Lightner DONATE

We want to give you the truth about plastic

There are very few topics that make the outreach department here at Methow Recycles feel like a broken record. Glass recycling is one but far and away plastic is the material that is the most controversial and the one we get asked about the most. And we're glad we get fielded these questions because it shows us that people care and are paying attention to the harm that the proliferation of plastic causes on our planet. From clogging up the oceans and the intestines of marine life great and small to the increasing amount of microplastics found in our food and the vast amounts of it piling up-- or worse, burned-- all over the world, plastic is literally everywhere and is an increasingly harmful pollutant. Plastic has become a symbol of our consumptive, throw-away society: it's cheap, it's convenient, and it's not meant to last. We want to be a part of the solution and not contribute to these horrible things but staying away from plastic is impossible. So, reusing and recycling become fundamental elements in addressing this complex issue. Imagine then when a Frontline documentary expounds plastic recycling efforts as wishful thinking or an NPR article states that plastic recycling is a lie or the New York Times reports that recycling markets are so dismal that it forces some communities to throw their recycling into the landfill. Public trust begins to erode, we are twice as confused and disappointed as we were before, and we're still stuck with a mountain of plastic that we feel we can do nothing with. It's hard to find solutions when we are told that nothing works. We are here to tell you that reuse and recycling absolutely work. They are necessary and they are worth doing. To set the record straight about plastic recycling in the Methow Valley, the next three enewsletters will be part of a series focusing on various aspects of plastic. While national news outlets may be reporting on what is happening in other parts of the country, their stories may not reflect our reality. We want to empower you with the facts of what is actually happening locally so you can feel with absolute certainty that your efforts are making a difference.

Plastic: What Happens to It?

A few details to keep in mind as you are reading: When you ask if something is recyclable, what you are really asking is if an item can be turned into something else. To turn an item into something else, there needs to be proper infrastructure and a market for the new product. In other words, recycling is limited by available infrastructure and markets. Not all plastic is created equal. Some is highly recyclable (i.e: there are markets for it) and some is intended to be disposed, like the shrink wrap seal around bottles or tubs of salsa. In this newsletter, we will mainly be focusing on disposable and single-use plastics like drink bottles and food packaging. Durable plastics like children's toys and PVC we'll address later on in the series. As a rural recycler, we face unique challenges like getting our material to market. We are incredibly proud of our recycling program and how much we are able to divert from the landfill, despite living in a remote area.

Demystifying plastic recycling in the Methow So you bought something packaged in plastic and now you want to recycle it. Here's how: First, make sure it is EMPTY CLEAN and DRY. Second, take off the lid and throw it away (the lids can fall out of the bale enroute to the recycling facility and end up as roadside garbage). If you are bringing the item to Methow Recycles and it is a screw top bottle, sort it into one of three categories- Clear, Frosty, and Solid (we can help you with this). If it is not a screw top bottle, put it in a Blue Bag. If it is clear plastic wrap and it stretches when you put your thumbs through it, put it in the plastic wrap bin. If the wrap is crinkly or solid colored, throw it away. If you are a WasteWise recycling customer, put either screw top bottles or plastic tubs in your recycling bin. DO NOT PUT PLASTIC WRAP IN THE BIN. If your plastic item does not fit any of these descriptions, we probably can't accept it. Ask us to be sure [email protected], 509-997-0520

Types of plastic we accept If you bring your sorted plastic to the recycling center, we accept: Clear Plastic Bottles Frosty Plastic Bottles Solid Plastic Bottles Clear Plastic Wrap  Plastic Tubs and Clamshells (through the Blue Bag system) If you are a WasteWise customer, you can place all of the above plastics EXCEPT PLASTIC WRAP in your recycling bin. Here are examples of clear plastic bottles

Here are examples of solid plastic bottles

Here are examples of frosty plastic bottles

Here are examples of clear, stretchy plastic wrap

Here are examples of plastics that go in a Blue Bag or WasteWise recycling bin

Where our plastic goes Like with any market, demand for recyclables shift over time as new recycling plants open up and as new products are created. Currently, we send Clear, Frosty, and Solid Plastic Bottles and Clear Plastic Wrap to Waste Management’s SMaRT Center in Spokane. Waste Management combines our plastics with like-materials from the region and sends the material on to domestic mills including a plastic mill in Frazier, BC, California, and Alabama. The comingled recycling you put in a Blue Bag or your WasteWise recycling bin we also send to the SMaRT Center where the bales are opened and separated into the various commodities. From there, all materials are sent to domestic mills with plastic materials being sent to including a mill in Frazier, BC, California, and Alabama.

What does our plastic become? As much as plastic is a wasteful material, in truth it can be a really useful material with really useful properties. It's lightweight, doesn't breakdown, can be malleable or rigid, and is used in all kinds of applications from food service to medical equipment to outdoor gear. Your plastic enjoys a new life as the following items: Clear Plastic Wrap = safety vests Clear and Frosty Plastic Bottles= new plastic bottles Frosty and Solid Plastic Bottles= park benches and children's toys

Recycling plastic is worth it Think about how many plastic items you come into contact with everyday. They all came from somewhere. Those items can either be manufactured from raw material or they can be made with all or a percentage of recycled materials. In fact, there is an increasing legislative push for materials to include a certain percentage of recycled materials, creating new demand for clean recyclables. We hope that in equipping you with some simple guidelines for how to recycle plastic in the Methow Valley you will feel confident that your participation is absolutely a vital part of the solution. Next up.... where does plastic come from and why is recycling it so complicated?

We will be closed on Saturday July 3rd in observance of Independence Day. We'll see you again on Thursday, July8th!

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