Reduce, Reuse, (and what was the other thing?)

This is a letter to the editor of the Brunswick Post regarding a Guest Column article about recycling in the City of Strongsville. Most is also applicable to Brunswick and other areas.

Thanks to Erin Lally for the informative Local Guest Column in Wednesday’s Post, ‘Let’s talk trash – and recycling!’ I live in Brunswick, where we also have curbside recycling (although there are a few differences from Strongsville). It’s good to be reminded about the importance and the protocol of recycling occasionally, and Erin Lally’s article did the trick.

In our part of Ohio, critics often gleefully point out two news items related to recycling. One is a report that the City of Cleveland is simply dumping recycling items in a landfill. This has been happening for at least two years, and the city still has not rectified the situation. Although this is a continuing problem for Cleveland, it doesn’t appear to be occurring in Strongsville, Brunswick, or other areas.

A second news item regarding recycling is the problem with plastic. Over a year ago, China drastically reduced the amount of plastic that it imports for recycling. This abrupt change is causing mountains of plastic trash to build up for U.S. recycling agencies. Our country and others are scrambling to find alternative approaches to the problem. There is no shortage of ideas, but scalability and economics are major concerns. It’s also the case that not all types of plastic can be effectively recycled. It appears that there is no fast and easy solution to the problem. I would also add that this plastic problem does not apply to paper, glass, metal, and other recycling.

None of this is to say that we shouldn’t recycle; we should. It’s far better for the environment to at least try to reuse material waste that would otherwise be placed in landfills. Please keep in mind Erin Lally’s and others’ mantra, “reduce, reuse, recycle,” and the priority should be in that order.