Ten households in Bloomington's Covenanter neighborhood are recycling more than most other city residents thanks to a $1,000 grant from the Bloomington Commission on Sustainability that kick-started a recycling pilot project. Everything from plastic wrapping to unusable socks can be dropped off and will eventually be shipped to a location where they can be reused or recycled — instead of being placed in a landfill.
Ellee Spier, her husband, Bret Spier, and brother, Mathew Austin, have 10 cardboard boxes of different sizes lined up in an open-air covered carport where neighbors can place items to be recycled that they would otherwise throw away. Most of the items will be shipped to Trenton, New Jersey-based TerraCycle, which works with other businesses to recycle or reuse materials. high barrier composite sheet
The Spiers and Austin received the grant in December. Before setting up the boxes, they surveyed their interested neighbors to see what types of items they thought they could recycle and what was in their trash. That determined what recycling boxes were placed in the carport.
Neighbors can drop by to add their items to the boxes whenever they want. Spier and Austin are collecting data on what gets dropped off to determine what to continue to recycle. Spier said she has been careful with the funds given for the project. She traveled to Carmel to pick up eight boxes, already paid, to recycle flexible food packaging. A Subaru franchise there was discontinuing the program but willing to give the boxes to Spier free of charge.
For most of the boxes, once they are full, the tops are closed and the box is shipped to TerraCycle's nearest processing center, in central Indiana.
The siblings hope that if their pilot project is deemed a success, it can be expanded into other Bloomington neighborhoods, lessening the items that are thrown in the trash.
"You have to have a neighbor with space who is willing to do it," said Austin, who is a member of the Bloomington Commission on Sustainability. He hopes that eventually neighborhood recycling will be part of the city's action plan. Both hope the project is just the first for many Bloomington neighborhoods.
What the county recycles:Did you know you can recycle toothbrushes and disposable razors in Monroe County?
While Bloomington offers recycling to its residents, there are many items that it doesn't accept. Different solid waste disposal companies accept different materials for recycling. Bloomington contracts with Republic Services, which limits the types of plastics and other items it accepts.
Flexible plastics (like potato chip bags), plastic film (including shipping envelopes with bubble wrap and dry cleaner bags), Styrofoam and similar foam items and laminated paper products are not recyclable in Bloomington but are part of the neighborhood recycling project.
While Austin and Spier are still collecting data from the recycling, it's become evident that people in their neighborhood use lots of laminated paper products (LPP) since they've collected five times more of it than any other type of recycled material. Types of LPP found in many households include paper that's meant to contain a liquid, such as a coffee cup, or a paper that has a reflective or glossy surface that's difficult to tear. Recycling the LPP is different from the other items; Austin worked out a deal with Rumpke that allows him to drive the LPP items to the nearest Rumpke collection site.
The Covenanter recycling project also accepts, from its neighbors only:
high temperature resistant soft liquid bag The Waste Reduction District of Monroe County has recycling centers throughout the county and offers recycling of used dental materials, razors as well as books and magazines. For more about what the district recycles, go to https://wastereductiondistrict.com. For information on what items can be recycled by city of Bloomington residents can go to bloomington.in.gov/sanitation/recycling.