Plastics Recycling Made Easy

I hope you'll stop by the West Orange Energy Commission's tables at the town picnic Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. Read the flyer for details.  

The group is planning interactive water conservation activities and giveaways to help town residents learn more about their water choices and to "Take Back the Tap" by drinking more tap water. 

As well as saving money, filling a reusable water bottle saves on the number of plastic bottles that get put in the trash. 

Plastic bottle waste is a global problem. Lots of water and beverage plastic bottles never make it into the recycling stream. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nationwide soft drink and water bottles were recovered and recycled at a rate of 37 percent in 2008. Recovery of milk and water bottles was estimated at about 28 percent in 2008.

With recycling plastic containers on my mind, since I do buy a lot of them, I researched West Orange plastic recycling options.

West Orange residents can put recyclables out for curbside pickup or bring them to the environmental center at 590 Mount Pleasant Ave.

These options make it easy to comply with West Orange's mandatory recycling ordinance to separate recyclable items from household trash.

Keeping recyclable plastics out of household garbage saves the township money on waste disposal fees. West Orange Councilwoman Susan McCartney explained to me that the township saved two tax points, or approximately $250,000, in garbage hauling fees for the 2010 budget year due to recycling efforts.

It's also good for the environment overall because recovered plastics can be re-made into new items rather than being stuck in a landfill or incinerated. 

Nick Salese, the township's assistant director of public works and recycling coordinator, confirmed for me that the West Orange curbside plastics recycling pick-up program includes plastic containers marked with #1, #2 and #5 number codes. 

In general, #1, #2 and #5 cover these common household items:

#1 = Soft drink, water and salad dressing bottles; peanut butter and jam jars

#2 = Milk, juice and water bottles; some shampoo/toiletry bottles

#5 = Yogurt containers, margarine tubs, reusable microwaveable ware; kitchenware; disposable take-away containers; disposable cups; plates

Check to make sure you put the right plastics into your curbside recycling. This takes just a minute and helps prevent surcharges to the township to separate out non-acceptable items. 

As an expanded option (or for those times when I miss putting out my bottles and cans), township residents also can bring their recyclable materials to the environmental center.

Louis Troiano, of Reliable Wood Products, the vendor that runs the environmental center, confirmed that the center accepts all plastics coded #1 through #7 from township residents. That's a good option to keep even more recyclable items out of the trash and no sorting necessary.

More information: 

West Orange Recycling Information and Calendar: Go to West Orange and click on Township Departments and then Recycling.

Recycling Question? Contact Nick Salese, assistant director of public works CPWM/recycling coordinator CRP.

Don't trash extra plastic grocery bags. Drop off extras at Whole Foods and ShopRite in the bins by the main entrances. Clean out bags before recycling.