As the country celebrated another America Recycles Day this past week, we looked back at some of the new reports, major announcements, and state of recycling in the U.S. today. 

America (Doesn’t Really) Recycles Day

A Greenpeace report out at the end of last month exposed some ugly truths about plastic recycling in the U.S. which offer a sharp contrast to the celebrations of the 25th annual holiday.

According to the report, despite seeming advancements in the packaging, production, and greater plastic industries, the majority of plastic waste in the U.S. is still not recyclable. Worse still, the portion of plastic that actually is recyclable is being recycled less. Specifically, the report estimates the recycling rate in the U.S. “declined to about 5–6% in 2021, down from a high of 9.5% in 2014 and 8.7% in 2018, when the U.S. exported millions of tons of plastic waste to China and counted it as recycled even though much of it was burned or dumped” (Greenpeace, 2022). 

The report went on to discuss the 5 most impactful reasons that plastic recycling is failing in the U.S.:

1. Plastic waste is too widespread to collect – poor and outdated infrastructure makes collection of plastic waste very difficult.
2. Mixed plastic waste cannot be recycled together – with hundreds of different types of plastics, mixed recycling is not only impractical, but also not logistically feasible. Other concerns include contamination, limited use, and low demand for recycled plastic end-material.
3. Plastic recycling is wasteful, polluting, and is a fire hazard – it’s estimated that as much as a third of collected plastic bottles are deemed “contaminated” and consequently landfilled. Additionally, microplastics produced in the mechanical recycling process are discharged with wastewater to pollute the environment. Lastly, highly flammable plastic creates concern for fires at production & recycling facilities and their surrounding communities. 
4. Recycled plastic has huge toxicity risks – plastic products may contain and absorb toxic chemicals (e.g., motor oil, pesticides, bleach); mixed plastics recycling risks contaminating other recyclables in the process. This reality limits the applications for recycled material to be reused in food-grade packaging or bottling.
5. Plastic recycling is not economical – compared to new plastic production, it is far too costly to collect, sort, truck, and safely reprocess plastic waste.

Ultimately, this jam-packed report reminds us that the recycling industry in the U.S. still has a long way to go. If you’d like to read the report or listen to coverage about it, here are some great additional resources to peruse:

• Greenpeace report: Circular Claims Fall Flat Again.
• NPR investigative reporter Laura Sullivan explains the plastic problem and new Greenpeace report.
• Interview with Lisa Ramsden, WBUR Here & Now from Nov. 2, 2022.

EPA Announces New Grant Funding

This week, the U.S. EPA also announced that applications are now open to access $375 million in grant funding for solid waste infrastructure for recycling projects as well as recycling education and outreach efforts. The funding is open to state, local, and tribal governments. According to the EPA’s press announcement, this fund reflects “the largest EPA investment in recycling in 30 years” (EPA, 2022).

Plastic Sustainability Targets set to be Missed

A report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and U.N. Environment Program released earlier this month revealed that a large majority of the world’s largest consumer goods (and plastics) producers are set to miss their 2025 target of using solely recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging (U.S. News, 2022). Some of the brands–which include companies like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Mars, Nestle, and Unilever–have demonstrated varied progress on updating their sustainability. But according to a spokesperson from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, despite progress from some companies, the majority still need to invest more in finding new packaging methods: “Flexible packaging waste is extremely hard to deal with, not generating it in the first place will need to be an important part of the solution…We won’t just recycle our way out” (Bloomberg, 2022).

We’re here to set the recycling record straight before diving too deep in bag bills and other single-use plastic legislation. Goldilocks would affirm finding the metaphorical bed that is just right to take on plastic pollution takes much consideration. Here, we consider the three primary kinds of recycling exist– upcycling, recycling and downcycling.

Upcycling involves transforming a material into something of higher value (e.g. turning plastic bottles into a bottle filling station at your office), while downcycling involves making material into something of lower value (e.g taking crushed glass bottles to make a roadbed. Recycling refers to the well known process of taking a material into something of the same value (e.g. plastic bottles into more plastic bottles). What may be a surprise to you is traditional recycling is often really downcycling. A study from 2017 found of 14% of global plastic that was collected for recycling, 8% was downcycled, 4% was lost, and only 2% was actually recycled or upcycled. Downcycling is a less ideal option when it comes to waste solutions because it lowers the quality of material over time. Further, less than 1% of what’s recycled will live two lives.

Advanced recycling, or chemical conversion, uses fossil fuels to further process plastic into more environmentally persistent material and this technology has yet to prove itself as a viable climate mitigation alternative. The dream of a circular economy which seamlessly cycles plastics has jumped the gun in the hopes that more recycling will solve our plastic pollution problem. True circular economies 1) utilizes all options across the supply chain to use as few resources as possible in the first place, 2) keeps resources in circulation for as long as possible, 3) extracts the maximum value from them while in use, then 4) recovers and regenerates products at the end of service life. This article does a great job navigating the perceptions and realities of a circular economy and how it goes beyond traditional recycling. 

While new recycling technologies are necessary steps towards a sustainable future, a shift in culture with legislation (such as bottle bills, but similarly bag fees) is a reliable way to eliminate the use of plastic products in the first place. Moreover,  next time you hear about flashy recycling practices, ask if this is true recycling, or downcycling! You’ll be surprised how many environmentally situated arguments and technologies are hidden sources of greenhouse gas. 

Bussin (definition)

Know what’s trending (other than the word “bussin”)? Using recycled materials in goods. From yoga pants, to deck chairs, to plastic bottles with minimum recycled content, brands are hopping on the “green” bandwagon to give the people what they want. With increases in demands for recycled plastic, bottle bills seem like a wonderful solution. Even the plastic industry, such as American Beverage, are “open to discussion on any kinds of systems that will get our bottles back,”. However, people within the recycling industry don’t think current curbside recycling can keep up with the times, and bottle bills create their own, streamlined system for processing plastic. So what’s the hold-up, and why was Hawaii the last state to implement a bottle bill, 16 years ago?

This article discusses some of the nuances and challenges involved with established bottle bills. Roadblocks to successful bottle bills include high operating costs, lower collection rates (you, often, are the one dropping off the bottles), a shrinking number of deposit centers and issues with funding. Advocates say there are solutions to these roadblocks. To name a few, expanding the kinds of bottles that can be returned for redemption (technology changes over time, thus changing types of plastic produced) and raising the redemption value to match inflation rates.  Once these systems are modernized and a system is in place for successful performance, bottle bills would meet current demands for recycled resin; however, steamrolling ahead and investing in a process that, historically, has faced challenges comes off as an irresponsible plan. Progress needs to be made in light of current challenges, so that new systems are shored up and successful.

What’s more, Representative Luria for Virginia 02 is championing a bill that would tax virgin plastic. This goes about a bottle bill in a different way. Essentially, her bill would implement a bottle bill unless single use bottles are made from recycled plastic. And that, my friends, is bussin.

They won’t stop until the well runs dry (or until a cease and desist order is approved)

The battle between a bottled water company, Nestle, and local environmentalists continues as the community waits to see if a cease and desist order filed against Nestle is approved by the California Water Resources Control Board. According to an environmental group, Nestle has extracted, on average, 25 times more water than its water rights allow; this has ravaged the local ecosystem and taken valuable resources away from the drought stricken land. Check out this article to learn more about the ongoing battle taking place in California, as well as many other states.

Nuisance algal traps microplastics in the Great Lakes

A special kind of algae in the great lakes tangles microplastics, causing microplastics to be suspended in water for longer and is an entry point for microplastics into the food chain. This recent discovery by scientists, however, sheds promising light on how future technologies could trap and remove microplastics from important freshwater resources, like the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes provides drinking water for 30 million people and microplastics have been found in products that use the water as a resource (such as beer). Check out the article for more background on microplastics and algae in the Great Lakes.

Waste has a bad wrap (and consumers care)

According to recent news, consumers are increasingly concerned about the waste generated from fast-food and willing to use returnable or reusable containers at fast food restaurants. The article discusses how young people are paying attention to businesses sustainability practices and how these consumers change their opinions based on eco-friendly initiatives. Currently, most fast food waste ends up in landfills, or worse, as litter. Fast food wrappers are one of the biggest culprits making up urban litter. This is problematic because the majority of the waste associated with the fast food industry is recyclable– this article discusses how about 85% of fast food waste could have been recycled or composted. It’s time to rethink waste in the United States, and this news sheds light on how consumer behavior is opening up to green possibilities.

The 2021 General Assembly is coming to an end and there were definitely environmental successes. We will forever remember the 2021 General Assembly by the words of Senator Chap Petersen, “The great polystyrene compromise of 2021” and Senator Hanger’s defense of chemical conversion, “I believe my friends in the environmental community will, once they understand what this actually does, I will be nominated by the Sierra Club as Environmentalist of the year”. This was a legislative session full of concessions. We expect there to be some compromise between legislators and concessions from the environmental community; we don’t expect our legislators to provide a Sophie’s Choice to appease the petrochemical industry.

“I believe my friends in the environmental community will, once they understand what this actually does, I will be nominated by the Sierra Club as Environmentalist of the year”

Sophie’s Choice- The “Great” Compromise

The bill to ban single-use expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) food and beverage containers (HB 1902) and the bill to classify chemical conversion as a manufacturing process (SB 1164) were connected from the start, despite reassurances from elected officials. The Coalition for Consumer Choice, an industry funded lobbying group that includes the Virginia Manufacturers Association (VMA) and  the American Chemistry Council (ACC), led the attempt to stop HB 1902 and were the main proponents of SB 1164.

On the Coalition for Consumer Choice Opposition to HB1902 to oppose HB 1902:  “Passage of HB 1902 will diminish the opportunity to attract Advanced Recycling technology to Virginia. In order to continue to attract Advanced Recycling investment in Virginia, it is essential that there be a supportive regulatory environment for the industry. Banning polystyrene, a feedstock for Advanced Recycling, would discourage investment in this 21st century technology in the Commonwealth.” We’ve written at length as to why these claims are simply not true, and you can read about them here. Chemical conversion (advanced recycling) should be subject to the same regulations as every other solid waste management facility in Virginia.

The connection of these bills is not based on speculation, it was confirmed by Senator Petersen on the Senate floor- “To the extent that we get this bill off the floor and pass it, I think it’s important that there will be a reciprocal understanding on the other side of the hall that recycling also needs to be respected and the recycling industry needs to be respected.” The senator continued with, “There’s no such thing as a quid pro quo in this business, but I will tell you that this is part of a large compromise”.

The large compromise or as we like to call it, “holding good legislation hostage to clear a path for bad legislation,” was that the Senate would not pass the ban on styrofoam food and beverage containers unless House members caved to their pressure to classify chemical conversion as a manufacturing process. Immediately after the chemical conversion bill passed, the ACC published a press release exclaiming how excited ExxonMobil, Shell Chemical, and Chevron-Phillips were to see their efforts rewriting state laws are succeeding around the country.

Chemical conversion passed the Senate with a 34 Y- 4 N vote and passed the House with a 90 Y- 8 N vote. 34 Virginia state senators and 90 Virginia state delegates supported a bill championed by the most polluting and plastic-creating corporations on the planet as a means to solve the plastic pollution crisis- Fox, meet henhouse. There is no indication from industry that they will be taking consumer plastic waste (the stuff we find most in streams and at cleanups) such as water and drink bottles, plastic wrap or film at any of these facilities despite what the legislators believe. 

It is a huge win for single-use expanded polystyrene food and beverage containers to be banned in Virginia and this win should be celebrated. Although it will take several years before these products are phased out in Virginia, this advancement was not seen as a realistic possibility under any circumstances even three years ago. Several groups across the state were involved in this campaign, led by Environment Virginia. Despite the setback against chemical conversion, the opportunity for better policies is not over. We can all work together to protect Virginians as the plastics industry attempts to expand chemical conversion facilities across the Commonwealth.

Intentional Balloon Releases

HB 2159 the bill to ban intentional balloon releases has passed the House and Senate, but not the version we were hoping to see, this bill was watered down in the name of “compromise”. As the bill reads now, individuals 16 years of age or older are liable for a $25 fine per balloon intentionally released.

The environmental community was hoping to see a blanket ban on intentional balloon releases and a $250 fine, which received accusations of targeting kids with questions like, “are you going to fine a six year old who accidentally releases a balloon?” Obviously the goal is to not target loose-gripped children; the purpose of the legislation is to solve a problem. The most effective way to create widespread community change is with legislation that circumscribes the problem and enforcement to ensure legislation is followed.

Any fines collected from this penalty will be deposited into the Game Protection Fund, which we expect to see exactly zero dollars from this legislation. Why don’t we expect to see these fines issued? The previous Virginia law allowed for the intentional release of 49 balloons an hour, with a $5 fine for any additional balloons released. Fines were supposed to be deposited into the Lifetime Hunting and Fishing Endowment fund, overseen by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR). DWR could not tell us how much money they’ve collected from these fines. The state fiscal impact statement declares, “Historically, DWR has not collected any penalties from this law”.

You’ve seen intentional balloon releases at college and high school football games or at weddings when 100s or 1000s  or more of balloons are let go in the name of “celebration.” These are egregiously bad–akin to just deliberately dropping 1000s of pieces of trash in the ocean. It is a good thing that you can’t release 49 balloons an hour without penalty anymore, but Virginians did not receive the bill that should have been passed. 

Illegal Dumping

HB 1801 which addressed fines for illegal dumping, was also introduced and passed but was also watered down in the name of compromise. The initial proposed legislation would have increased the minimum penalty to $2,500 and the maximum to $5,000 in addition to increasing community service hours in lieu of jail time from 10 hours to 40 hours. The bill that passed mandates a $500 minimum and a $2,500 maximum with no change in community service hours. 

The most glaring issues with this bill is that it provides no enforcement mechanism and most importantly it does not address the root cause of illegal dumping. Illegal dumping occurs because of a lack of access to waste management facilities; people need to be provided with more options for dealing with the kind of trash that can’t be put out on the curb. The ability to dispose of big household items and trash responsibly should not be dependent on a person’s financial ability to pay. If we want a clean Commonwealth we need to prioritize policies that will facilitate better behaviors.

“America Recycles Day” was last Saturday. Recycling is a good thing to do, it has a place in a circular, zero waste society, but it is by no means the answer. There’s a reason it comes at the end of the 5 R’s- Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Rot, Recycle. We cannot recycle our way out of the plastic crisis. Three of the corporations behind American Recycles Day are Coke, Pepsi, and Nestle- regular fixtures in our blog. These companies really want us to recycle, but do they? Coke uses only 9% of post-consumer plastic, Pepsi only uses 3% post consumer plastic content, and Nestle only uses 2% post consumer plastic. Some of the other companies that are telling us to recycle on America Recycles Day include Dow Chemicals, McDonalds, Clorox, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Keurig/Dr Pepper, and Altria. Recycling is good, stopping waste at its source is better. Until these companies support policies like extended producer responsibility, and bottle bills, their calls for us to “recycle more” ring hollow. You can read a detailed description of America Recycles Day and its deception here. 

This isn’t the first time we’ve said product manufacturers need to be held accountable for their product’s entire lifecycle. Auto shops aren’t allowed to dispose of oil in the creek behind their shop. Coke should be preventing their bottles from reaching the environment and PepsiCo should make sure their Doritos wrappers don’t end up floating down the Potomac. Tetra Pak should make sure their juice box doesn’t get trapped in a beaver lodge.

Tetra Pak is the largest packaging company on the planet, with about $13 billion in sales every year. Tetra Pak makes packaging for things like juice boxes, milk cartons and chicken broth. They look like glossy cardboard, but are actually a complicated combination of multiple materials including polyethylene and aluminum. Tetra Pak makes the claim their products are 100% recyclable. Their global recycling rate in 2018 was 26%. Tetra Pak has said 70 million US households have access to facilities that will recycle their products. While it is difficult to determine what “access” means, it’s not difficult to determine there are about 50 million US households without any access to facilities that recycle Tetra Paks. Additionally, when these products are “recycled” they are shipped in giant bales to facilities in Mexico, where the byproduct is typically used to make cement. Here’s a deep dive into Tetra Pak’s greenwashed marketing scheme. 

Endangered species sighting: A few days ago, a five foot Atlantic Sturgeon was found washed ashore in Virginia Beach. Atlantic sturgeon are endangered but have been on the planet for over 120 million years- they were here with dinosaurs! Atlantic sturgeon aren’t usually what people think of when Fairfax County or the Potomac River are mentioned, but our home used to be their spawning ground.  Overfishing and human expansion pushed sturgeon to the brink of extinction, but there are multiple efforts to help the species recover. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science has been collaborating with groups in Virginia and federal agencies to create new strategies in Virginia waters. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources monitor receivers on tagged sturgeon to study migratory patterns, spawning habits, and where the fish spend the winter months.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling: One of the big stories from this week was the announcement that oil and gas companies have been asked to submit their proposals to extract oil and natural gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This directive doesn’t only open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, almost 400,000 of federal land in the Lower 48 states will be auctioned off in the next two months. Immediately after the announcement, Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, the National Audubon Society, and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit. The Gwich’in Steering Committee has also filed a lawsuit to protect their sacred ancestral land. Hope is not lost, last week a federal judge ruled that the Bureau of Land Management failed to disclose the climate impacts for a proposal to frack oil and gas on 300,000 acres in Wyoming which has stopped (temporarily) the operation. It is also important to note that Royal Dutch Shell ended their Arctic exploration in 2015 because there wasn’t enough oil and gas to make the operation economically viable. Read the latest developments to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge here. 

Facebook Suspends Environmental Groups: Have you wondered why we’re giving you news this way instead of daily on Facebook? Facebook recently made an announcement about being, “committed to tackling climate misinformation” and then immediately suspended the accounts of environmental groups who are actively working to protect people and communities against climate change. The timing on these account suspensions could not have been worse. In May of 2019 several environmental groups were involved in an action against KKR & Co. an investment firm that is financing the Coastal GasLink pipeline. There was another online action against KKR & Co. planned for this month, the same environmental groups from the 2019 action were suspended the day before the latest planned action. Facebook is still filled with pages refuting climate science, pages that promote violence, and still allows polluting corporations to publish their greenwashed stories about how they help people and are concerned about climate change. Read the entire story about Facebook suspending Environmental organization’s accounts here. The Stop Hate for Profit campaign was started to hold social media companies accountable for hate on their platforms. The campaign goal is straightforward- stop valuing profits over hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, and disinformation. Get all the news on Stop Hate for Profit here.

NYC Climate Week: On Monday we shared a story about BP’s personal “carbon footprint” campaign and after posting we read a quote from environmental reporter Emily Atkin, “I hope they noticed that British Petroleum would rather trigger climate despair in people who already care about the planet than examine their own responsibility”. This quote is especially pertinent right now because it is NYC Climate week. As part of Climate Week, major oil companies (including BP) have released their climate plans. Not a single one of these plans will keep global temperatures from reaching the 1.5° global warming limit. BP’s outlined plan is the most misleading because it leaves out the company’s partial ownership of Rosneft, a major Russian oil producer. Read the entire report about big oil’s climate plans here.

American Chemistry Council Greenwashing: Chemical recycling has been a hot button issue in Virginia for the last year, with a strong backing from the American Chemistry Council. If you remember, last year at the Virginia General Assembly, the House passed a phased ban on expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) food and beverage containers. This bill was delayed by the Senate because if the products were banned, chemical recycling facilities would not come to Virginia. It’s important to note here there were never any plans for a chemical recycling facility in Virginia, and there are still no plans to build one. This is where BP comes back into the story, our elected officials are depending on fossil fuel companies like BP to build these facilities, of which BP is building one in Houston for $25 million. This investment from BP is to bolster their profits by continuing the myth that the world can recycle all of the plastic they are creating. The plastic “recycled” with chemical recycling is mostly repurposed into fuel stock or to burn for energy, all of this is released back into the environment. Expanding chemical recycling facilities does nothing to stop the plastic crisis and contributes to environmental degradation and harms the most vulnerable communities. The solution to the plastic crisis is reducing waste at the source rather than expensive, inefficient processes at the end of the system. Read the entire story about the American Chemistry Council’s greenwashing attempts here.      

The Myth of Recycling: Recycling is definitely an important part of the plan to reduce waste and recover valuable materials, but our current system is broken. Plastic producers have no incentive to make a change because virgin material is cheaper than recycled plastic and recycled plastics can’t be used in the same manner repeatedly because plastics degrade everytime they are recycled. The plastics industry has acknowledged the global problem of plastic waste- their solution is chemical recycling, which as we know isn’t actually recycling, it’s just repurposing. Politico recently put out a great series titled, “The Recycling Myth” that has some great information about the problems with the global recycling system.

Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act: The problems we have highlighted have serious consequences, but there is a great solution to the plastic crisis in the US- The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act (BFFPPA). This act would require plastic producers to take responsibility for collecting and recycling materials. Recycling programs around the country are collapsing because localities do not have the funding. This act would force corporations, like BP who had $9.7 billion in profit for FY 2019, to cover the costs of waste management and clean up, rather than leaving it to cash strapped localities and volunteers to remove waste once it enters their community. The BFFPPA would require a nationwide bottle deposit program. Currently Virginia has a bottle recycling rate of about 20%, the ten states with bottle bills have an average bottle recycling rate of 60%. The most common polluting single use plastics would be phased out of production. The collective “we” have spent over a decade fighting for single use plastic bag legislation in Virginia, and we are still only part way there, this act would mandate a nationwide fee on single use carryout plastic bags. A fee for plastic bags has documented success around the country. This federal legislation would also put a temporary pause on new plastics facilities, stopping the construction of new facilities is critical to reduce plastic waste at the source. The only elected officials from Virginia who have signed on are Representative Luria and Representative Connolly. Read about this important federal bill here!  

Unnamed creek in Fairfax County. Photo credit Clean Fairfax.

Clean Fairfax is proud to introduce Litter Free Virginia, an initiative to fight for litter prevention legislation across the state of Virginia! At its core, Litter Free Virginia is a coalition of people and organizations (non-profits, businesses and more) that are frustrated with litter and waste management issues, and want to develop and support policies that help solve these problems. Clean Fairfax has long dreamed of coordinating a coalition that attacks litter at its source, and that day has finally come!

In its inaugural year, #LitterFreeVA will focus on legislation that decreases the use of single-use bags, especially plastic bags. This will likely take the form of a local-option bag fee of $0.05. In future years, this initiative will focus on other aspects of the litter issue. Don’t worry — we haven’t forgotten about bottles, cigarette butts, fast food containers, etc. But for 2019, it’s single-use bags.

While we’re hard at work developing good policy, you have a BIG part to play in #LitterFreeVA. Here are ways that you can contribute (full details found here):

• Document litter in your community – Do you regularly snag selfies? Do you take your avocado toast on a photoshoot before you dig in? If so, this may be the perfect task for you. We’ve spoken to legislators, and they need photographic proof of the litter issues we’re having. Consequently, a main focus this year is to document Virginia’s litter problems using the hashtag #LitterFreeVA. This is super easy. If you walk upon a littered area, take a photo, upload it to Twitter or Instagram, and tag us using #LitterFreeVA. We then collect these photos using a hashtag aggregator! Bonus points if you add location (including zip code if possible) as well as a bit of colorful (but positive) commentary. Want to see the photos we’ve collected thus far? Go to our front page and scroll down!
• Contact your representatives – Your local state senators and representatives have a lot to do. They can’t keep track of every issue, so it’s on you to let them know that this is an issue you care about! Click here to find your local rep’s contact information. Please note that representatives will only listen to their own constituents. Do not waste time contacting a rep that’s not your own. If you really want to put pressure on a representative outside your locality, convince citizens within that locality to contact their rep! For talking points and sample emails, please click here.

The website should help guide you every step of the way, but please contact us if you have any questions or if you are looking to become more involved in this initiative! A really easy way to keep up with what we’re doing is to sign up for email alerts. We promise never to spam you.

Recycling can be… Complicated. Frustrating. Expletive inducing? Every city and county has a different set of recycling guidelines depending on infrastructure, haulers and local policy. This can create real confusion for citizens who are just trying to do good. In Fairfax County, we have a dozen or so haulers, all with their own requirements. That’s a lot of conflicting messages. We love Fairfax County Environment Facebook page’s effort to share what is and isn’t recyclable, but many residents aren’t serviced by the county. Our own website on recycling is, well, admittedly a bit lacking because of the complex nature of the issue. We’re working on it.

In our opinion, the best solution to this issue is probably a search plug-in that tells you if an item is recyclable after you enter the name of the item as well as which disposal company you use. This will take intensive ground-truthing and coordination, so please be patient while we develop that.

Until then, courtesy of Sally Carter (who has gone great lengths to figure this out), enjoy this awesome list of FFX County Recycling Guidelines! Note that it was assembled with guidance from the following sources:

• The county’s Public Works and Environmental Services’ Index of Residential Materials and the “The Fairfax Recycler” e-newsletter
• American Disposal Services’ Acceptable Recycling Materials and the information they share during tours of their facility in Manassas.

Also, a shout out to MOM’s and Whole Foods, both of which have wonderful recycling programs of their own.

Clean Fairfax is excited to announce the development of our Community Map! Found on our website’s homepage, it displays local Fairfax County cleanups (hosted by Clean Fairfax or otherwise) as well as community events and markets. Our website typically garners thousands of unique views a month, and consequently, we believe that this will be a great way to get the word out about local conservation/sustainability education efforts! Please contact Clean Fairfax if you’d like your cleanup or event to be included on the map, or if you know of a litter problem area that we should be aware of! We’re happy to post anything that furthers the protection and restoration of our ecosystems.

Part of Clean Fairfax’s mission is to be a clearinghouse for environmental and sustainability information, and this map will help us better communicate to our audience. We often field questions about local volunteer opportunities, and this will serve as a way to quickly inform those interested. We’re especially interested in mapping the following:

• Cleanup opportunities
• Restoration opportunities
• Other environmental volunteer opportunities
• Local environmental events, including meetings, films, festivals and more!
• Litter hotspots that need attention
• Farmers’ markets, and perhaps other stores that go above and beyond concerning sustainability
• Anything else we haven’t yet thought of that the community finds important!

Do you have an upcoming event or community initiative that you want posted? Email us today!