TOUCHDOWN!

Recycle Smart Partners – we are excited to share that the interest in Recycle Smart continues to grow everyday here in Massachusetts! In December alone – over 13,500 unique individuals visited the Recycle Smart MA website and we gained more than 1,000 new followers across our social media channels. Curious who these recycling enthusiast are? Check out the age and gender demographics of the Recycle Smart MA website below:

Demographics of Recycle Smart MA website visitors

Game Day Recycling

As we gear up for Super Bowl LIII, we decided to tackle bottle & can recycling. Did you know that Super Bowl fans spent an astonishing $1.3 BILLION on beer and cider leading up to the big game last year? This year we are hoping for a “Hail Mary” – that ALL of the glass bottles and aluminum cans consumed in Massachusetts during the Super Bowl will be returned to a bottle redemption center or recycled this year.

We need YOUR help to make this possible. Don’t sit on the sidelines; join us in sharing this message on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram:

DYK that you can return your empty bottles & cans from the big game for a $0.05 deposit at a local grocery store or redemption center? Or, you can put them in your recycling bin! Find a redemption center near you: https://bit.ly/2AoqFjD #SuperBowlLIII #Recycle #Green

Don’t use social media? Share Recycle Smart information and images in any newsletters, emails, or printed materials you sent out!

Partner Spotlight: Graham Waste

In order to see improvements in the quality of our recycling stream, we need all players to be on the same page about what is, and what isn’t recyclable here in Massachusetts. We are thrilled that the Recycle Smart partners include representatives across many different sectors including municipalities, hauling companies, material recovery facilities, environmental non-profit organizations, and more. Graham Waste, a Massachusetts based hauling company, has done an excellent job sharing the Recycle Smart message with their customers. Check out how they feature Recycle Smart on their website here.

All About Black Plastic

The top performing Recycle Smart Facebook post last month was a video featuring how to properly dispose of takeout containers. Many followers were surprised by the news that black plastic containers belong in the trash. The Recycle Smart team was too so we figured we’d share what we learned. Plastic containers are separated into resin type by optical sorters. Problem is, the black plastic blends in with the black conveyor belt so the optical sorter doesn’t see it. It gets mixed with already sorted plastic and is a contaminant (each plastic acts differently in the melting process). Recycling technology is continually evolving and improving. But for now, black plastic is a NO in the recycling bin.

Graham Waste Services & The Recycle Smart Team at MassDEP thank you for Recycling Smart!!!