Let's talk about residential recycling in Clark County!
The recycling process consists of three phases:
1. Collection
2. Re-manufacture
3. Resale
You and I are the fist phase of the collection process. We actively gather our recyclables, sort them and put them on the curb for pick up every two weeks. Republic Services (currently) comes by every two weeks and collects our recyclables and transports them to a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF).
Things you should know:
1. Republic Services currently holds the exclusive Franchise Agreement in Clark County and will hold that agreement until 2035!
- Yes, I know, you don't like anything about Republic Services! I've heard it all...'the worst customer service', 'I never got my recycle bins', 'they don't really recycle'...
- Say what you will but this company is the ONLY option we have right now.
2. The MRF is a sorting system only. There are currently no RE-MANUFACTURING facilities in Clark County.
- Here's what that means, all of those plastic bottles that you put out for recycling are being collected, sorted and bailed by Republic Services not re-manufactured. Those big bails are then shipped off to China (or the highest bidder).
- It costs R.S. almost 60% more to collect and process recyclables then it does to just throw it all in the landfill.
3. Republic Services currently accepts: aluminum cans, tin cans, plastic bottles (1 & 2 ONLY), newspapers, telephone books, magazines, glass bottles (all colors) and corrugated cardboard.
- Not all systems are created equal. What was accepted back home isn't necessarily what is collected here.
- Plastic bags should NEVER go into your curb side bins - take those back to the store.
- Caps on or off the plastic bottles is irrelevant at this point - just get the PET into the system and out of the landfill.
4. 30,000 homes in Clark County participated in a three year pilot program and the results are being presented to the Commissioners Recycle Committee on July 14.
