More items now recyclable in Whitfield!

Recycling is incredibly important for the health of our planet. It is one of the easiest and most impacting actions that a person can take to help save natural resources and reduce pollution. Now, thanks to some chances, we can recycle even more here in Dalton and Whitfield. All plastics that are labeled one and two are now recyclable in Dalton and Whitfield along with our greasy pizza boxes!

For many years, we have been limited to only bottles and jugs for plastic recycling in the City of Dalton curbside and the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, but now, thanks to work with our vendor, we are able to accept all number one and two plastics.

These plastics will be recycled and turned into new products here in the Southeast. The number two plastic will be used to make lumber and playground equipment and the number one plastic will be recycled locally and turned into new carpeting. Making sure to recycle your plastics will not only saves natural resources to recycle, but boost our local industry as well.

Plastics recycling is notoriously confusing and though we can now recycle more plastics, we still have to learn which ones can be processed and which can’t. We are all familiar with the chasing arrows triangle and while this usually denotes recycling, when it is on plastic it is actually to note what type of plastic a container is. This is a frustrating and confusing system, but just remember to focus on the number inside that triangle not the triangle itself.

You are going to be looking for plastics number one and number two. Plastic #1 is what your plastic water bottles are made from. You’ll also run across it in peanut butter jars and plastic salad dressing bottles. Some clear clamshell containers, like the kind you might get a to-go salad in are also made of #1 plastic. If it is a hard clear plastic, it is worth checking to see the number. There are a couple of sneaky objects that may look like #1, but be #5 like the to-go cups at McDonald’s.

Plastics number two is sturdier than plastic number one. This is what your laundry detergent bottle, many cleaning products, lotion bottles, and some vitamin bottles are made from. There is one caveat to number two plastics that we still can’t recycle. Your plastic grocery bags are a number two plastic, but because they are a flexible plastic they are a major problem for the machinery used to sort and process recycling. Those can be recycled, but must be taken to a drop off location like the ones at most major grocery stores and major retailers like Walmart or Target.

Taking the time to look for the little number can be annoying so to cut down on how often you are having to search for a little number, remember we can still take all bottles and jugs as these are almost always made from number one or two plastics so you don’t have to worry about searching for a number on those. We are all creatures of habit; most people tend to buy the same brands at the grocery store which will end up making recycling easier over time as well. Once you have checked an item once or twice, you will start to remember which bin it goes in automatically so after a brief adjustment period, you’ll be flying through your recycling and only having to check the occasional plastic container.

More than plastics, we can now be more relaxed about our pizza boxes. While you still can’t recycle it if it has actual food in the box like leftover pizza or dripped cheese, once it is empty you can recycle your whole pizza box. No more tearing off the top to put in the blue bin! Greasy spots on the cardboard are no longer a concern and can be filtered in processing.

While it might take a minute to get used to checking for numbers or getting to throw the whole pizza box in the bin, it is well worth the effort and we can’t wait to see those full recycling bins on pickup day!

Amy Hartline is the recycling and education program coordinator for the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. Have a recycling question? Contact her at (706) 278-5001 or ahartline@dwswa.org.