FA L L 2 0 2 4 E D I T I O N
What's Inside: Better Recycling Habits Matter page 3 Tick and Mosquito Prevention page 9
Camden County Link Trail page 12 Hydroponic Greenhouse page 15
Maximizing Recycling Success in Camden County
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lastics are so integral to our daily lives that it’s almost impossible to think of not using them for even a single day. They’re everywhere, and in everything: medical equipment, building materials, automobiles, and groceries. Whether in a state like New Jersey, with robust recycling infrastructure, or in a bottle bill state, where residents deliver their bottles and jugs to a redemption center, most of the plastics we encounter daily will unfortunately end up in the trash. The best thing each of us can do right now is focus on understanding and prioritizing maximum participation in our existing recycling programs. New Jersey is a national leader in recycling. However, education and increased participation in our existing recycling programs remain the keys to our success. To succeed, we must understand the basic curbside recycling categories and ensure that items in those categories never go into the trash. Disposing of recyclables in the trash ensures that they will be lost forever, leading to more virgin material being mined from the Earth to meet the demands of the marketplace. Single stream recycling is convenient because all of the bottles, cans and paper items we place in our curbside containers are delivered to facilities specifically designed to separate these items into different categories. Recyclables from each category are then sold and shipped to end markets to be used in the manufacturing of new products.
Placing the proper clean, and loose recyclables in our curbside containers is one of the most effective ways each of us can help ensure both the highest quality and the highest value for the recycled commodities being sold. To ensure that all recyclables collected at the curb actually get recycled, we only recommend items that can be sorted efficiently, and that represent sustainable value. Camden County provides simple guidance and has eliminated complicated details to maximize recycling effectiveness for our residents. The County’s “What Goes in the Bin” recycling campaign (see Pg. 6), provides four simple categories of materials that can be recycled everywhere. In fact, this approach to simplifying recycling education is going statewide, so that all of our neighbors in New Jersey can better understand the basic categories of curbside recycling. This simplified messaging should yield greater recycling participation and an improvement to New Jersey’s already successful recycling programs. Some materials that cannot be recycled at the curb are still recyclable in other ways. It’s important to identify these materials and participate in recycling programs that can accept them. For more information about recycling in our area, please visit recycling pages for both Camden County (camdencounty.com/recycling) and your municipality’s recycling webpage, and download the Recycle Coach app, available at the Apple App Store and Google Play Stores.