The recycling bin at my own apartment complex blew my mind

I live in a 12 unit building in Portland and I've been putting glass bottles in the mixed recycling for years. Last week the waste hauler left a notice on the bins saying glass needs to go in the separate green bin or it contaminates everything. I went online and found out that a single broken bottle in a load of paper and plastic can send the whole truck to the landfill. In Portland alone that's thousands of tons every year getting trashed because people like me didn't know the rules. I felt stupid and a little angry that the city never made this obvious to renters. Now I'm checking every label and I've got a small bin in my kitchen just for glass. Has anyone else had this "aha" moment with their local recycling rules, or is it just me being late to the game?

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wren8061mo ago

Three years ago I lived in Seattle and found out my building's "single stream" recycling was actually just a big fat lie because half our stuff went to the dump anyway. The manager finally admitted the hauler charged extra for contaminated loads so they just tossed the whole bin rather than sort it, which made me want to scream. Now I'm that annoying neighbor who pulls pizza boxes with grease stains out of the recycling and holds them up like evidence at a crime scene. But honestly the glass thing is the WORST because I always assumed glass just melts down and gets reborn, not that it turns everything into a giant landfill coffin. The city should be putting cartoons on the bins, not just printed notices nobody reads, like a giant sad turtle wearing a monocle looking at a beer bottle. Anyway congrats on your new kitchen glass bin, you've officially joined the weird club of people who read waste hauler notices.

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