Encourage recycling by increasing use of material
By The Herald Editorial Board
Perhaps fittingly, state lawmakers are recycling proposals if not actual legislation from last year as they address how to encourage the recycling of more packaging and reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills.
Washington state has a decent rate of recycling, returning about 50 percent of packaging and other material — compared to a national average of about 32 percent — thanks to services that provide curbside recycling to about 87 percent of residents and more than 100 collection sites across the state for those without that service. And that curbside service is relatively affordable, about $8 to $10 a month.
But the state’s recycling rate has been stuck around 50 percent for years, and recycling itself is facing old challenges, including persistent confusion over which plastics are recyclable — just because you see the famous triangular arrows on the bottom of a plastic jug, doesn’t mean it can be easily recycled or even accepted — and changes in the markets for some material, particularly glass. Slumping demand for glass in the state has brought on the closure of some glass processing facilities, halting glass collection for some state residents.
Each of three pieces of legislation and companion bills propose different approaches to improving the rate of recycling and reducing the amount of packaging that is more difficult to recycle. Among the legislation:
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