HOW THINGS WORK
here our WDoes
Waste Go?
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ost people don’t think much about what happens after they throw away their garbage, recycling, or yard waste. Here’s where your items are hauled and how they’re handled after you put them in your curbside containers.
CURBY
YA R DY
Recycling
Compost
Recyclable items in your home include paper, newspapers, cardboard, clean food boxes, plastic bottles, tin cans, juice cartons, and glass (kept separate from other recyclables). When you place these items in your blue CURBY recycling cart, they are picked up and taken to the Republic Services recycling facility in Cedar Rapids, where large sorting machines separate various types of recoverable materials. These machines use conveyor belts, lifts, teeth, and air jets. Because this system is so intricate, it is important not to send non-recyclable items through the machines. Collected recyclables are transported to a private material recycling facility, operated by Republic Services. Once they sort out all the recyclable materials, they sell them to both domestic and international buyers. Material prices can fluctuate dramatically due to demand and quality, and the future of recycling becomes uncertain. Additionally, countries that used to accept our recycling are reaching capacity and are no longer accepting as much as they once were. These industry changes make it crucial that we only send correct items to the recycling facility as well as reduce, reuse, and compost in our homes.
Lucy is a three-foot basset hound, here to help us remember to leave room between our YARDY, GARBY, and CURBY carts and glass recycling buckets. When you leave room for Lucy on collection day, you help make solid waste collection greener and more efficient. Carts that are placed too close to each other or to other objects don’t leave room for the automated collection arm to safely reach around the cart, forcing the solid waste driver to exit the vehicle, move the cart so there is room for the arm, and climb back into the truck to collect the material. This process slows down the collection, increases idle time for trucks, and increases the chance of property being damaged during the collection. 12
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Your green YARDY cart is great for cleaning up the garden, but it also holds fruits and vegetables, rice, pasta, coffee grounds and filters, loose-leaf tea, eggshells, and bread. (Please do not throw the following items in your YARDY: paper towels, plates, or cups; napkins or Kleenex; animal bedding; meat or dairy products; dog waste; or cat litter.) YARDY contents produce compost for all Linn County residents to use, while sending less to the landfill. On collection day all year long, your YARDY is collected by the same truck that picks up your garbage. The contents then travel to the Solid Waste Agency, where about 30,000 tons of material are composted to produce 11,000 tons of finished product each year. Compost is regularly tested and is regarded among the best in its class by the U.S. Composting Council. Pick up compost from the Solid Waste Agency at 2250 A Street SW and use it in your gardens, your lawn, and around trees and shrubs. Composting leads to healthy soil and water retention and can eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers. For more information on how to compost with your YARDY, visit CityofCR.com/Compost.