- Slug: CN2Go.
- Runtime: 7:44.
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THIS IS YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2GO.
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I’M ( go to story )
TODAY ON THE SHOW WE’RE TAKING A DEPARTURE FROM OUR USUAL BRIEFING TO BRING YOU AN IN-DEPTH LISTEN ON AN ASPECT OF LIFE IN ARIZONA. AND THAT IS RECYCLING. WHILE CITIES ACROSS AMERICA HAD TO SHUT DOWN OR SCALE BACK ON RECYCLING… THE CITY OF PHOENIX, DESPITE SOME CHALLENGES, MANAGED TO RECYCLE BETTER IN RECENT YEARS.
CRONKITE NEWS’ KENNETH RASMUSSEN (RAHS-muh-SEN) TAKES US ACROSS THE VALLEY TO LEARN MORE.
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THE CITY OF PHOENIX NOTICED AN INCREASE IN RECYCLING OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
ALEXIS YAPLE WHO WORKS FOR THE CITY OF PHOENIX’S NORTH GATEWAY TRANSFER STATION AND MATERIAL RECOVERY FACILITY ATTRIBUTES THE PANDEMIC TO AN UPTICK IN RECYCLING, SPECIFICALLY THE LOCKDOWNS.
“through COVID, we saw a 20% increase in the amount of material that we received at the facility. And that was purely because people were staying at home more and teleworking.”
YAPLE SAYS THAT DESPITE THERE BEING DIFFICULTY IN CERTAIN RECYCLING MARKETS, PRODUCTS SUCH AS PAPER, PLASTIC, GLASS, AND METAL STILL DO WELL.
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE AT PRESENT IS THE CONTAMINATION OF RECYCLABLE PRODUCTS.
“So something as small as a lithium-ion battery can actually cause a fire at the facility. And you know, something like a propane tank or an aerosol can cause many explosions. So for us, it’s really important to keep the wrong stuff out of the bin. And that helps keep our employees safe and also protects the equipment as well.” (23 Seconds)
FOR EXAMPLE, PLASTIC BAGS CAN JAM UP RECYCLING MACHINES SO IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT CAN AND CANNOT BE RECYCLED. YAPLE SAYS THE CITY HAS MADE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO EDUCATE PEOPLE THROUGH PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE RECYCLE RIGHT WIZARD. A WEBPAGE THE CITY DESIGNED TO CLARIFY WHAT BELONGS TO YOUR RECYCLING CONTAINER AND WHAT DOES NOT.
DESPITE THE CONTINUED SUCCESS OF THE RECYCLING PROGRAM IN PHOENIX THE REST OF ARIZONA OVERALL IS NOT AS LUCKY. CHINA’S OPERATION NATIONAL SWORD WHICH WAS ENACTED IN 2017 HAS BANNED OR LIMITED CERTAIN RECYCLABLE IMPORTS. THIS POLICY SHRANK RECYCLING MARKETS CONSIDERABLY.
CRISTINA POLSGROVE, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF TUCSON’S ENVIRONMENTAL AND GENERAL SERVICES DEPT. MENTIONED THE IMPACT OF THE POLICY ON THEIR RECYCLING.
“In 2018, when the China National Sword was implemented, it really threw recycling programs across the country into a spin because markets collapsed and we didn’t know where we were going to send things. Our costs went up drastically. Instead of getting the check every month we were paying out in that first year, we paid close to $4 million to the materials recovery facility for the processing of the recyclables.” (38 seconds)
THE CITY OF TUCSON WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO IMPLEMENT ADJUSTMENTS THAT ALLOWED THE RECYCLING PROCESS TO WORK A BIT SMOOTHER AT A LOWER COST.
“We had done a study, a field study that showed that most residents, their recycle bins, were only half to a third full on a regular basis. And so we knew that we could go to every other week and, you know, very likely collect the same amount of materials. So we implemented that change. We did not see our tonnages drop. We were collecting the same amount of material. And for those people who are avid recyclers who needed that weekly pick up, we were actually able to just provide them a second bin at no additional cost.” (40 seconds)
OTHERS HOWEVER ARE FACING MORE DIFFICULTIES IN A POST-NATIONAL SWORD MARKET. THE CITY OF SURPRISE DOES NOT CURRENTLY HAVE ITS OWN RECYCLING PROGRAM DUE TO AS MUCH AS 50% OF THE RECYCLABLES ENDING UP IN LANDFILL.
INSTEAD, THE RECYCLABLES ARE DROPPED OFF AT A SITE WITHIN THE CITY. HERE IS GLADYS NKEZE, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN SURPRISE..
“What we do right now, there is we have hours of operations from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. and also 1 to 3 p.m.. And at that location, we accept cardboard, plastic bottles, number one and two, and aluminum. And so we generally have an average of about 500 cars a month that drop off recyclable materials over there and estimate that about 90% of the materials are cardboard. So what we do -then is the material is separated before it’s hauled to in materials recovery facility for processing.” (43 seconds)
AT PRESENT, SURPRISE IS CURRENTLY DISCUSSING THE ISSUE WITH VARIOUS MUNICIPALITIES AND SERVICES FOR A LONG-TERM SOLUTION.
DESPITE SOME DISPARITIES IN RECYCLING PERFORMANCE AMONG ARIZONA CITIES, THE CURRENT CHALLENGES FACED BY SOME OF THEM ARE NOT EXCLUSIVE, SAYS SENIOR GLOBAL FUTURES SCIENTIST AND SUSTAINABILITY EXPERT RAJESH BUCH.
“COVID hit and we started making more waste. We started making more plastic waste and more cardboard waste, especially because of all the packaging that was being shipped–. So the waste stream kind of got concentrated in some areas. But our solutions for diverting that waste didn’t really change. Right. So we don’t have market for recycled materials in Arizona. We do for metals, some materials. We’re really good at reducing that. But most materials we’re not.”
BUCH ADDS THAT THERE WAS LITTLE IN THE WAY OF OVERALL IMPROVEMENT IN HOW WASTE WAS DEALT WITH ACROSS THE STATE.
THERE ARE REMEDIES TO THIS PROBLEM HOWEVER AND SOME CAN EVEN BE DONE BY CONSUMERS.
ONE BIT OF ADVICE FROM BUCH IS TO FIND OUT WHAT IS RECYCLABLE IN YOUR LOCAL AREA, AS IT TENDS TO SHIFT FROM CITY TO CITY. FROM THERE IT’S A MATTER OF DIVERTING FROM THE BLACK BIN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
BUCH ACKNOWLEDGES THE DIFFICULTY OF THIS…
“More than half the country{sic} rural population of America doesn’t have access to recycling services.”
HE SAYS AN ACTIVE EFFORT ON THE PART OF THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO ACCESS RECYCLING SERVICES, THEIR OWN OR OTHERWISE, IS A BIG HELP.
ADDITIONALLY, BUCH ADVISES AVOIDING CHEAP MATERIALS, LIKE SINGLE-USE PLASTIC, REPLACING THEM WITH HIGHER-QUALITY RECYCLABLES, AND REUSING THEM, WHEN POSSIBLE.
WHILE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR PLAYS A MAJOR PART IN THE SUSTAINABILITY CRISIS, BUCH SAYS THE RESPONSIBILITY ALSO LIES WITH THE CURRENT STRUCTURE OF RECYCLING MARKETS.
THE LACK OF LOCAL END MARKETS AND PROCESSORS ARE ALSO CONTRIBUTING. BUCH MENTIONED THAT 95% OF OUR RECYCLED MATERIAL GOES OUT OF OUR STATE. WHEREAS OTHER CITIES LIKE SAN FRANCISCO, AUSTIN, AND PORTLAND HAVE BUILT THEIR OWN INFRASTRUCTURE TO KEEP RECYCLED MATERIAL WITHIN THE STATE AND KEEP THE PROGRAMS SUSTAINABLE.
SO WHILE THE CONSUMERS CAN DO THEIR PART TO HELP CERTAIN RECYCLING FACILITIES STAY OPEN, IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT THE WAY INFRASTRUCTURES ARE SET UP ADDS AN EXTRA LAYER OF DIFFICULTY IN MAINTAINING THESE FACILITIES.
KENNY RASMUSSEN, CRONKITE NEWS
HOST TAG : A MORE COMPREHENSIVE LIST CAN BE FOUND ON PHOENIX.GOV/RECYCLE.
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THANKS TO KENNETH RASMUSSEN (RAHS-muh-SEN) FOR THAT STORY AND THANKS TO ATHENA ANKRAH FOR PRODUCING OUR SHOW.
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YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT CN2GO AND FIND A RANGE OF STORIES BY CHECKING OUT CRONKITENEWS-DOT-AZPBS-DOT-ORG.
THAT’S ALL FOR YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2 GO. I’M .
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