[OKRA] Latest Article from Chaz Miller - Recycling Works. If We Don't Counter the Naysayers, It Won't

[Ellen Bussert]

[image: image.png]

Here is Chaz Miller's most recent Waste360 column, “Recycling Works.  If We
Don’t Counter the Naysayers, It Won’t
<https://www.waste360.com/waste-recycling/recycling-works-if-we-don-t-counter-the-naysayers-it-won-t>”,
looks at combating media misinformation about recycling.  When we take the
effort to separate our recyclables from trash, we want to know our time was
well spent.  Unfortunately, the barrage of lies about plastic recycling is
taking its toll on recycling other materials.  MassRecycle’s campaign to
tell the truth about recycling is an example of how to tell your story. *Take
a look*.  Perhaps we can launch a program to tell our story in Oklahoma.


[image: image.png]
Recycling Works. If We Don’t Counter the Naysayers,It Won’t

You’ve probably seen a newspaper, television, or online article insisting
that recycling isn’t working. They say what we put in our recycling bins
doesn’t get recycled. Instead, it ends up in landfills. Some of these
stories come from organizations with an axe to grind against plastic
products. They fear that successful plastic recycling will undercut their
efforts to eliminate plastics, so they insist plastics can’t be recycled.
Some come from reporters who pass them on without taking the time to fact
check them. Others pop up in letters to the editor or in online comments.
[image: Picture of Chaz Miller]
<https://www.waste360.com/author/chaz-miller>
Chaz Miller  <https://www.waste360.com/author/chaz-miller>, Semi-retired,
40-year veteran of the waste and recycling industry

April 29, 2024
2 Min Read
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You’ve probably seen a newspaper, television, or online article insisting
that recycling isn’t working. They say what we put in our recycling bins
doesn’t get recycled. Instead, it ends up in landfills.

Some of these stories come from organizations with an axe to grind against
plastic products. They fear that successful plastic recycling will undercut
their efforts to eliminate plastics, so they insist plastics can’t be
recycled. Some come from reporters who pass them on without taking the time
to fact check them. Others pop up in letters to the editor or in online
comments.

Unfortunately, the result is a media drowning us in misinformation about
recycling. This attempt to undermine plastic recycling is harming all
recycling. People who want to recycle lose faith when they are told their
efforts are wasted.

As I noted in my last column
<https://www.waste360.com/plastics/the-realities-of-plastics-recycling>,
I’ve gotten used to being asked by friends if their recyclables are being
thrown away. This also happens when people I meet learn I am involved in
recycling. They too want to know if all of their recyclables, not just the
plastics, are being thrown away.

We need to turn the tide. It's time for recyclers to tell the story of
where the stuff in our recycling bins goes. It’s time to correct the lies
and out-of-context statements that are eroding trust in recycling. If we
don’t, our silence guarantees our recycling efforts will fail.

Fortunately, some groups are telling the story. Last year, MassRecycle
<https://massrecycle.org/>, the state recycling organization in
Massachusetts, decided enough was enough. The group put together a
successful campaign to get accurate information to media in the state.

MassRecycle didn’t argue that recycling is working. They showed how it is
working. They set up tours of ”MRFs”, the materials recovery facilities
that process recyclables. Reporters, elected officials, citizens and
businesses visited local MRFs to see how their recyclables are being
processed and sent to end markets. If a picture is worth a thousand words,
a MRF tour is worth hundreds of thousands. It shows recycling in action.
Telling the story proves that recycling is working.

A year after launching its program, MassRecycle is still giving weekly MRF
tours. As Gretchen Carey, MassRecycle President, said at a fall recycling
conference
<https://nerc.org/documents/conferences/Fall%202023%20Conference/NERC%202023%20Fall%20Conference%20Program.pdf>,
“We believe the people who come to visit are our best advocates. We always
ask them to tell people what they have seen and spread the word that
recycling is really happening.” As a result, MassRecycle is a go-to
resource for local reporters.

State recycling groups and local recycling officials are the best people to
tell the story. They know the facts. They collect and process recyclables
on a daily basis. They can set up MRF tours and become trusted news sources
for reporters. They can proudly say, “These are our programs and they are
working”.

Let’s tell the story in all fifty states. Let’s step up and counter the
misinformation.  We have a story to tell.  Let’s go out and tell it.
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About the Author(s)
[image: Chaz Miller] <https://www.waste360.com/author/chaz-miller>

Chaz Miller
<https://www.waste360.com/author/chaz-miller>

Semi-retired, 40-year veteran of the waste and recycling industry

Chaz Miller is a longtime veteran of the waste and recycling industry.
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