WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.170 ♪ (music) ♪ 00:00:02.170 --> 00:00:05.430 line:1 What actually happens to the stuff you put in the recycling bin? 00:00:05.430 --> 00:00:07.410 I’ve always been curious, 00:00:07.410 --> 00:00:10.630 so I decided to collect the recycling from our office 00:00:10.630 --> 00:00:13.060 and bring it to a recycling plant to find out. 00:00:13.060 --> 00:00:15.965 line:1 Follow me, we’re going to find out the life of our recyclables 00:00:15.965 --> 00:00:17.675 line:1 as they go to a recycling plant. 00:00:17.675 --> 00:00:23.555 line:1 ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ 00:00:23.555 --> 00:00:25.790 When I got to Sims recycling plant in Brooklyn, 00:00:25.790 --> 00:00:28.160 I found a huge warehouse 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:31.560 where 800 tons of recyclables from all over New York 00:00:31.560 --> 00:00:34.340 are dropped off by barge and truck every day. 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:36.522 The plant was built in 2013, 00:00:36.522 --> 00:00:38.440 and it is state-of-the-art. 00:00:38.440 --> 00:00:42.050 It handles materials like: metals, glass, and hard plastics. 00:00:42.050 --> 00:00:45.030 And after those materials are dropped off, they’re sorted. 00:00:45.660 --> 00:00:48.257 So we take all of those unsorted recyclables 00:00:48.257 --> 00:00:51.850 and push it through our processing system, which is almost all automatic. 00:00:51.850 --> 00:00:55.120 line:1 It's about two and a half miles worth of conveyor belts, magnets, 00:00:55.120 --> 00:00:57.870 line:1 cameras, all sorts of other machines 00:00:57.870 --> 00:01:00.610 dedicated to just sorting out different materials. 00:01:00.610 --> 00:01:03.130 The sorting machine is very high-tech 00:01:03.130 --> 00:01:05.800 and sorts 14 kinds of materials, 00:01:05.800 --> 00:01:09.230 like glass, aluminum, cartons, and different types of plastic. 00:01:09.230 --> 00:01:11.380 Once enough of a material is collected, 00:01:11.380 --> 00:01:14.030 it's compressed into a 1,000 to 1,500 pound 00:01:14.030 --> 00:01:15.437 block called a bale. 00:01:15.437 --> 00:01:18.820 After the bales are sorted, they’re sold to 3rd party companies. 00:01:18.820 --> 00:01:23.110 For example, a bale of aluminum might sell for $800. 00:01:23.110 --> 00:01:26.410 Buyers then take that raw material, clean and process it, 00:01:26.410 --> 00:01:28.110 and turn it into something new. 00:01:28.110 --> 00:01:32.440 This process saves way more energy than mining for virgin materials. 00:01:32.440 --> 00:01:36.206 With the same amount of energy it takes to make one can of new aluminum 00:01:36.206 --> 00:01:39.950 you can make 20 cans from recycled aluminum. 00:01:39.950 --> 00:01:44.690 And using one ton of recycled plastic saves 16 barrels of oil. 00:01:45.697 --> 00:01:49.160 You have to think about all this stuff as coming from the earth, right? 00:01:49.160 --> 00:01:51.840 There’s natural resources, oil, in all of these plastics, 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:54.700 and once you put it in the trash, it's going to a landfill 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:56.240 or it’s going to an incinerator. 00:01:56.240 --> 00:01:58.400 You’re never going to use that material again. 00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:01.300 So it’s important, we’ve got limited resources on this planet, 00:02:01.300 --> 00:02:03.800 to use these kinds of materials 00:02:03.800 --> 00:02:05.940 as much as we can in the best way as possible. 00:02:05.940 --> 00:02:08.220 ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ 00:02:08.220 --> 00:02:12.230 Despite the great set-up at Sims, there are a lot of issues with recycling. 00:02:12.230 --> 00:02:15.280 First of all, Americans kind of suck at it. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:20.248 According to the EPA, about 75% of all our waste is actually recyclable, 00:02:20.248 --> 00:02:24.100 yet our recycling rates hang around 34%, nationally. 00:02:24.100 --> 00:02:27.240 That basically means that only a third of every single thing we use 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:30.257 and throw out every day is making it to the recycling bin. 00:02:30.257 --> 00:02:32.310 And don’t get me started with New Yorkers. 00:02:32.310 --> 00:02:35.390 We only recycle 17% of our waste. 00:02:35.850 --> 00:02:37.911 This is a garbage can outside of our office 00:02:37.911 --> 00:02:41.500 and you can see there’s paper and there’s some cans in there, cups. 00:02:41.500 --> 00:02:44.610 All of these thing are recyclable and they’re in the trash, 00:02:44.610 --> 00:02:47.270 right when there’s a recycling bin right next door. 00:02:47.270 --> 00:02:49.520 Only about 50% of recyclables in New York City 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:51.360 are getting recycled right now. 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:55.440 And I think that's largely a result of maybe a lack of public education. 00:02:55.440 --> 00:02:57.650 The fact that the rules have changed over time. 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:01.780 Maybe some people don't care enough or don't know why they should. 00:03:01.780 --> 00:03:05.080 And I think those kind of issues can be addressed through education. 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:08.480 For their part, Sims offers daily educational tours of their plant, 00:03:08.480 --> 00:03:11.140 in an effort to boost our low-recycling rates. 00:03:11.140 --> 00:03:13.100 Low rates aren’t the only issue, though. 00:03:13.100 --> 00:03:16.350 Sam also told me about another problem called wish-cycling. 00:03:16.350 --> 00:03:18.850 That’s when people put trash into the recycling bin, 00:03:18.850 --> 00:03:22.290 hoping it can be recycled when, in fact, it can not. 00:03:22.290 --> 00:03:24.995 I would say it’s about 10% to13% of what we get 00:03:24.995 --> 00:03:26.765 is not something we want to receive. 00:03:26.765 --> 00:03:29.315 Those kinds of materials are extra plastic bags, 00:03:29.315 --> 00:03:32.110 plastic film, maybe little bits of food scraps 00:03:32.110 --> 00:03:33.400 mixed in those containers. 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:36.130 Wish-cycling wastes a lot of energy and fuel 00:03:36.130 --> 00:03:38.320 because items are shipped to a plant like Sims, 00:03:38.320 --> 00:03:41.470 sorted, and then eventually just sent to the dump. 00:03:41.470 --> 00:03:45.030 I wanted to see if my coworkers and I were guilty of any wish-cycling, 00:03:45.030 --> 00:03:47.680 so I convinced Sam to go through our bag with me. 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:49.450 We’re not wearing gloves because-- 00:03:49.900 --> 00:03:52.799 - Is that okay with you? - We do this every day, this is fine. 00:03:52.799 --> 00:03:55.730 By looking through our bag, I learned we made some mistakes. 00:03:55.730 --> 00:03:57.930 Like putting paper towels in the recycling bin. 00:03:57.930 --> 00:03:59.640 They’re actually compostable. 00:03:59.640 --> 00:04:03.790 He also told me important tips, like cutting down on plastic straws. 00:04:03.790 --> 00:04:06.840 A lot of sort of single-use disposables that are really small, 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:09.990 it's better to use less of these then to even try to recycle them 00:04:09.990 --> 00:04:14.070 because a lot of small plastics fall through the cracks in the system. 00:04:14.070 --> 00:04:16.040 - Reduce. - Exactely. 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:18.800 Sam told me that another huge misconception about recycling 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:20.110 are plastic bags. 00:04:20.110 --> 00:04:23.260 line:1 We get about 18 tons of plastic bags here every day, 00:04:23.820 --> 00:04:26.380 line:1 ideally, we would be getting nothing. 00:04:26.380 --> 00:04:29.040 Plastic bags are a low-quality kind of plastic, 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:31.330 which makes them really hard to resell. 00:04:31.330 --> 00:04:34.877 For example, in Sims´ case, they have to pay another company to come, 00:04:34.877 --> 00:04:37.567 pick up the bags and recycle them elsewhere. 00:04:37.567 --> 00:04:41.000 On top of that, the bags get stuck in the machine and can break it. 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:43.550 So if you want to recycle your plastic shopping bags, 00:04:43.550 --> 00:04:46.530 go to a plastic bag drop-off at a retailer like Whole Foods. 00:04:46.530 --> 00:04:51.005 Or better yet, skip the plastic bags altogether and bring a reusable bag. 00:04:51.005 --> 00:04:53.450 It’s important to note that every city is different, 00:04:53.450 --> 00:04:56.050 so look up what your city’s recycling plant accepts. 00:04:56.050 --> 00:04:58.760 Sims is one of the most inclusive recycling plants 00:04:58.760 --> 00:05:01.440 on the East coast and it accepts more materials 00:05:01.440 --> 00:05:03.020 than many recycling plants. 00:05:03.545 --> 00:05:06.000 But Sam told me to abide by the general rule: 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.130 "If it’s a hard plastic, put it in the recycling bin." 00:05:09.790 --> 00:05:13.750 Seeing the 800 tons of recyclables at Sims was insane. 00:05:13.750 --> 00:05:17.480 But that’s nothing compared to the 12,000 tons of trash 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:20.250 residents of New York City throw out every day. 00:05:20.880 --> 00:05:24.101 I know seeing that made me more conscious of what I use every day 00:05:24.101 --> 00:05:27.040 and inspired me to cut down on single-use plastics. 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:30.756 But let’s be real, plastic is still a part of our everyday lives 00:05:30.756 --> 00:05:32.861 and it’s hard to avoid it completely. 00:05:32.861 --> 00:05:36.200 However, I’ve realized we can have a say in where it ends up. 00:05:36.647 --> 00:05:38.844 And while we’re at it, help our environment 00:05:38.844 --> 00:05:40.910 and create a more sustainable future. 00:05:40.910 --> 00:05:46.530 ♪ (upbeat music) ♪