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(music)

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What actually happens to the stuff[br]you put in the recycling bin?

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I've always been curious,

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so I decided to collect[br]the recycling from our office

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and bring it to a recycling plant[br]to find out.

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Follow me, we're going to find out[br]the life of our recyclables

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as they go to a recycling plant.

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(upbeat music)

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When I got to Sims recycling plant[br]in Brooklyn,

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I found a huge warehouse

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where 800 tons of recyclables[br]from all over New York

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are dropped off by barge[br]and truck every day.

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The plant was built in 2013,

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and it is state-of-the-art.

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It handles materials like:[br]metals, glass, and hard plastics.

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And after those materials are dropped off,[br]they're sorted.

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So we take all of those[br]unsorted recyclables

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and push it through our processing[br]system, which is almost all automatic.

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It's about two and a half miles[br]worth of conveyor belts, magnets,

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cameras, all sorts of other machines

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dedicated to just sorting out[br]different materials.

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The sorting machine is very high-tech

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and sorts 14 kinds of materials,

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like glass, aluminum, cartons,[br]and different types of plastic.

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Once enough of a material is collected,

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it's compressed[br]into a 1,000 to 1,500 pound

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block called a bale.

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After the bales are sorted,[br]they're sold to 3rd party companies.

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For example, a bale of aluminum[br]might sell for $800.

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Buyers then take that raw material,[br]clean and process it,

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and turn it into something new.

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This process saves way more energy[br]than mining for virgin materials.

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With the same amount of energy[br]it takes to make one can of new aluminum

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you can make 20 cans[br]from recycled aluminum.

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And using one ton of recycled plastic[br]saves 16 barrels of oil.

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You have to think about all this stuff[br]as coming from the earth, right?

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There's natural resources,[br]oil, in all of these plastics,

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and once you put it in the trash,[br]it's going to a landfill

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or it's going to an incinerator.

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You're never going to use[br]that material again.

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So it's important, we've got[br]limited resources on this planet,

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to use these kinds of materials

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as much as we can[br]in the best way as possible.

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(upbeat music)

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Despite the great set-up at Sims,[br]there are a lot of issues with recycling.

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First of all,[br]Americans kind of suck at it.

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According to the EPA, about 75%[br]of all our waste is actually recyclable,

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yet our recycling rates[br]hang around 34%, nationally.

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That basically means that only a third[br]of every single thing we use

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and throw out every day[br]is making it to the recycling bin.

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And don't get me started with New Yorkers.

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We only recycle 17% of our waste.

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This is a garbage can[br]outside of our office

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and you can see there's paper[br]and there's some cans in there, cups.

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All of these things are recyclable[br]and they're in the trash,

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right when there's a recycling bin[br]right next door.

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Only about 50% of recyclables[br]in New York City

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are getting recycled right now.

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And I think that's largely a result[br]of maybe a lack of public education.

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The fact that the rules[br]have changed over time.

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Maybe some people don't care enough[br]or don't know why they should.

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And I think those kind of issues[br]can be addressed through education.

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For their part, Sims offers[br]daily educational tours of their plant,

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in an effort to boost[br]our low-recycling rates.

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Low rates aren't the only issue, though.

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Sam also told me about another[br]problem called wish-cycling.

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That's when people put trash[br]into the recycling bin,

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hoping it can be recycled[br]when, in fact, it can not.

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I would say it's about[br]10% to 13% of what we get

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is not something we want to receive.

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Those kinds of materials[br]are extra plastic bags,

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plastic film,[br]maybe little bits of food scraps

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mixed in those containers.

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Wish-cycling wastes[br]a lot of energy and fuel

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because items are shipped[br]to a plant like Sims,

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sorted, and then eventually[br]just sent to the dump.

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I wanted to see if my coworkers and I[br]were guilty of any wish-cycling,

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so I convinced Sam[br]to go through our bag with me.

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We're not wearing gloves because--

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- Is that okay with you?[br]- We do this every day, this is fine.

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By looking through our bag,[br]I learned we made some mistakes.

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Like putting paper towels[br]in the recycling bin.

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They're actually compostable.

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He also told me important tips,[br]like cutting down on plastic straws.

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A lot of sort of single-use disposables[br]that are really small,

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it's better to use less of these[br]then to even try to recycle them

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because a lot of small plastics[br]fall through the cracks in the system.

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- Reduce.[br]- Exactly.

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Sam told me that another[br]huge misconception about recycling

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are plastic bags.

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We get about 18 tons[br]of plastic bags here every day,

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ideally, we would be getting nothing.

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Plastic bags are a low-quality[br]kind of plastic,

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which makes them really hard to resell.

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For example, in Sims' case,[br]they have to pay another company to come,

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pick up the bags[br]and recycle them elsewhere.

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On top of that, the bags get stuck[br]in the machine and can break it.

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So if you want to recycle[br]your plastic shopping bags,

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go to a plastic bag drop-off[br]at a retailer like Whole Foods.

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Or better yet, skip the plastic bags[br]altogether and bring a reusable bag.

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It's important to note[br]that every city is different,

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so look up what your city's[br]recycling plant accepts.

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Sims is one of the most[br]inclusive recycling plants

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on the East coast[br]and it accepts more materials

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than many recycling plants.

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But Sam told me[br]to abide by the general rule:

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"If it's a hard plastic,[br]put it in the recycling bin."

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Seeing the 800 tons of recyclables[br]at Sims was insane.

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But that's nothing compared[br]to the 12,000 tons of trash

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residents of New York City[br]throw out every day.

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I know seeing that made me[br]more conscious of what I use every day

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and inspired me to cut down[br]on single-use plastics.

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But let's be real, plastic[br]is still a part of our everyday lives

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and it's hard to avoid it completely.

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However, I've realized[br]we can have a say in where it ends up.

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And while we're at it,[br]help our environment

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and create a more sustainable future.

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(upbeat music)