PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia officials say the city’s recycling program is getting back on track after upheavals caused by the pandemic and changes in the worldwide plastic market.
The city was hit with a one-two punch, starting in 2019 when China essentially closed its plastic market, sending disposal prices through the roof.
Philadelphia was still reeling when the pandemic hit and the worker shortage hobbled its ability even to collect recycling separately. Workers resorted to dumping waste and recycling into the same truck just to get it off the street.
Recycling program director Kyle Lewis says there should be no more commingling trash and recycling and that residents who see it happening should call 311 and report it.
However, Lewis says the city is back up to recycling 12% of its waste. “Year over year, between 2021 and 2022, we increased recycling tonnage about 10,860 tons, which ends up to be over 21 million pounds,” she explained.
Recycling markets have rebounded as well, according to Lewis. In the past couple of years, states including New Jersey have passed laws requiring recycled content for certain items, creating a domestic market for some plastic and lowering costs.
Philly’s current contract with Waste Management has a variable rate that fluctuates according to the market price for materials. Right now, it’s about $100 a ton — one-third less than in 2019.
Lewis says the contamination rate has also gone down — that’s the percentage of things thrown in the recycling bin that can’t be recycled. Still, it’s around 20%, which means there’s a lot more work for homeowners to do in separating recycling.
The quick rule of thumb is, if in doubt, leave it out — that is, if you don’t know if it can be recycled, put it in the trash. Non-recyclables include pizza boxes, plastic bags, and in fact, most plastic unless it has a recycling symbol on it.
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