First Posted: 4/22/2015
Before a plastic water bottle is tossed into the garbage, the person doing the tossing might want to ask if that bottle can be turned into something else.
The answer is, yes.
Recycling, by definition, is the conversion of waste into reusable material.
It has become a form of necessity within the Greater Pittston area and, according to Beth Denardi, recycling coordinator for Luzerne County, although certain towns are required to recycle, there are municipalities that voluntarily recycle.
“The state requires that areas with a population of 5,000 people, 300 people per square mile, are mandated by the state to recycle,” said Denardi. “The majority of towns we have recycling in Luzerne County are volunteers and our towns do a fabulous job.”
Denardi said, of the 76 townships, boroughs and cities within the Luzerne County, 53 of them recycle and all have their own methods of recycling.
According to the Exeter Borough Recycling Department, 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water are saved each time one ton of paper is recycled. Recycling paper also reduces air pollution by about 75 percent.
“Some do curbside and some do a drop off and some do both,Denaldi said of Luzerne County municipalities that offer recycling programs. “The majority of materials the towns recycle is what is mandated by the state of Pennsylvania and by the (Department of Environmental Protection). It’s basics such as fibers which include newspaper and cardboard, aluminum, steel, glass and, most of the time, plastic.”
Curbside pickup
Exeter Borough has used the curbside method of recycling since the 1980s, according to borough recycling coordinator Karen Szwast.
That includes every Monday pickups commingled recyclables consisting of glass, metal, plastic bottles, cans and jars. Along with commingled recyclables, there is also an alternated pickup of newspapers the first and third Monday of every month, cardboard on the second Monday and junk mail on the fourth Monday.
Junk mail recyclables, according to Szwast, includes magazines, catalogs, phone books and non-corrugated cardboard such as soda boxes. Non-corrugated means pieces of a box may be made of a single layer, or even multiple layers, but they’re all flat.
More information about the borough’s recycling schedule and rules may be viewed at www.exeterborough.com.
Szwast said for the first time since the late 1990s, Exeter Borough is only picking up recyclables in Exeter. Previously, the borough picked up recyclable materials in surrounding communities, as well.
“It wasn’t a decision by us (to stop collecting from other municipalities) because we raised our prices and the other towns felt they couldn’t afford it,” said Szwast. “They found another place to recycle which is more affordable to them. We got a lot of towns started and they still recycle which, I believe, is a feather in Exeter’s cap.”
Szwast believes recycling encourages people to purchase recycled items and continue the cycle.
“You can make clothing out of soda bottles, which is impressive, as well as carpet,” said Szwast. “One of the things to stress is people should look at what they’re buying and complete the loop, meaning buy recycled products. If customers demand they want more recycled content, it creates a better market place and the more recycling demand, the more demand for the recycled product.”
Recycling drop-off
The curbside method is used by the majority of the Greater Pittston area but the drop-off method is used by Avoca, West Wyoming and Exeter Township.
According to Avoca Council Vice President John Boone, the borough did not always use the drop-off method and was one of the boroughs involved in the Exeter Borough collection until a few years ago.
“After several years with Exeter, they began to charge us for use of their recycling truck,” said Boone. “It was worked out by the garbage committee to begin a similar program with Moosic Borough, which we were able to do again at no cost.”
Boone said the switch was beneficial to Avoca as it was able to incorporate its recycling program.
Boone explained that, with the drop-off program, the Moosic Department of Public Works, or DPW, drops off a truck at the Avoca Borough garage at 1103 Plane St. Residents then drop off the necessary recyclables and the Moosic truck takes those items to its recycling center.
All recyclable items are accepted on recycling day, however the borough will soon incorporate a method to alternate weeks when newspaper and cardboard can be dropped off, meaning one week newspaper can be collected, but not cardboard, and then vice versa for the following week.
Boone said the drop-off method has had a positive impact on the community,
“I think the program in Avoca has been very successful,” he said. “Beginning in May, we are able to add an additional day to the recycling schedule due to the demand and volume generated. Of course, Avoca Borough officials feel this is a very valuable program. Along with the benefits to the environment as a whole, it also benefits the citizens. Avoca Borough has a three bag per household limit with our refuse contractor, allowing citizens the opportunity to recycle assures that residents don’t have to worry about exceeding that limit.”
Recycling in Avoca will be collected on Wednesdays and Thursdays of each week beginning May 5. A schedule may be obtained at the borough garage or the municipal building located at 752 Main St.
Single stream recycling
While it is not much different from the curbside pickup, single stream recycling is a much simpler way to collect recyclables, according to officials.
Pittston Township recently made the switch to single stream after offering regular curbside pickups, but Jenkins Township has been using single stream for the past three years, according to Jenkins Township Supervisor Joe Zelonis.
Single stream recycling allows for all recyclables to be mixed together.
“Everything is mixed together and nothing is separated,” said Zelonis. “Cans, bottle, newspapers, pizza boxes, it can all go in one container. We have a compactor at our small recycling center and our trucks take it, compact it and when it’s full, we call the Northeast Recycling Council and it gets picked up.”
The benefits of single stream, according to Zelonis, is that trucks no longer have to make multiple stops at homes and properties, increasing savings on fuel and decreasing pollution from truck exhaust.
The single stream method is also easier on township workers.
“We used to take the recyclables and dump it in a dumpster and we would have to take newspapers, by hand, and throw them in another dumpster; the cardboard, by hand, would go in another dumpster,” said Zelonis. “Now, we have one dumpster and it saves time for our road department as well as money and fuel costs for our trucks. It’s just an easier fit for us.”
