FAQ | FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Topics on this Page Include:
Financial Impacts of Recycling
Why Recycle
Where Does it Go / What does it get turned into?
Additional Service Information
Financial Impacts of Recycling that show:
- Recycling will and already has created local jobs in Teton County, ID
- With participation and support for local operations recycling pickup service could be considered to be included as a public service provided by the County to all due to the overwhelming financial benefits (see below)
- Landfill waste costs 80% more than recycling
- Landfill Bound Waste Cost to Teton County per Truckload = $1264
- Recycling Cost to Teton County per Truckload = $220
- 405% higher profits for our County can be realized through local recycling vs. landfill bound waste when County tipping fees are considered
- Landfill Bound Waste Net revenue per truck load = $116 / truck load
- Recycling Net revenue per truck load = $470 / truck load
Interested in seeing the calculations? email us at Info@TheRadRecyclers.com
Why recycle?
Recycling is an important way for individuals and businesses to reduce the waste they generate and reduce the negative impact of that waste. Every time you recycle, it also supports the many companies and employees doing this important work.
Recycling conserves our natural resources, saves landfill space, conserves energy, and reduces water pollution, air pollution and the green house gas emissions that cause global warming.
Reducing, Reusing, Recycling and buying Recycled products make up a comprehensive waste and resource reduction strategy that benefits our natural world and our economy.
Where does it go?
RAD will be taking all the same currently accepted materials to the Teton County (ID) Transfer Station and will be taking currently unaccepted materials by the Teton County (ID) Transfer Station to the Jackson Recycling Center. This is subject to change and we will notify each of you upon any changes in the destination of your recyclable materials.
PLASTICS
Plastics #1 Bottles – RAD brings them to the Jackson Recycling Center
Plastics #2 Bottles – RAD brings them to the Jackson Recycling Center
From JH Recycling --
Plastics currently go to K.B. Recycling in Oregon and Natures Composites in Torrington, Wyoming. Natures Composites manufactures fencing made from recycled plastic and wheat straw. K.B. Recycling sells recycled plastic to markets in British Columbia, California, Texas and other locations. From there, the material is sorted, flaked, washed and pelletized. Depending on the purity of the pellets, they may be used to remanufacture non-food containers, other packaging materials, clothing, automotive parts and toys.
Recycling 1 pound of #1 plastic bottles, which include soft drink and water bottles, saves approximately 12,000 BTUs (British thermal unit) of heat energy. And, producing new plastic products from recycled materials uses two-thirds less energy than is required to make products from raw (virgin) materials. Recycling 1 ton of plastic saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space. - Earth911.com
Grocery Bags (plastic bags #2 & #4) - Rad takes them to Jackson Recycling — from JH recycling they are baled and taken to our local Albertsons. Albertsons sends the collected bags to their Salt Lake City distribution center where they are sorted and sold to Trex in Nevada. Trex makes biocomposite lumber from reclaimed wood and plastic. Last year Jackson Hole recycled 4 tons, or 640,000 plastic bags!
The U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags. The Wall Street Journal
PAPER PRODUCTS
Office Pack (white paper) - RAD takes this to Jackson
Newspaper – RAD takes this to Jackson
Magazines – RAD takes this to Jackson
From JH Recycling - Paper products are sent to International Paper and Fiber Reclaim paper mills in Oregon and Washington. Most paper is made back into whatever it was originally – corrugated cardboard, newsprint, office paper, and magazine paper. Some newspaper is sold to Hamilton Mfg. in Twin Falls, Idaho. They make cellulose insulation and hydro-seeding mulch. Last year, Jackson Hole recycled 2,649 tons of paper!
Recycling 1 ton of paper products saves 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil (enough to run the average car for 1,260 miles), 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for 6 months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space, and 60 pounds of air pollution.
CARDBOARD
Corrugated Cardboard – RAD takes corrugated cardboard to the Teton County Idaho transfer station where it is being bailed and stored until enough bails will fill a truck. Before the bailer, we understand that the transfer station has been storing the cardboard until used for composting content.
METAL
Aluminum Cans — RAD takes them to the Teton County Idaho Transfer station where they are and have been stored in an outdoor area. The County will sell these materials to a commodities buyer once enough quantity has been achieved and the baler is fully operational (est. Oct. 2011). This commodities buyer will pay less for these materials because they are “dirty” and the buyer will need to clean them.
Jackson’s commodities buyer - Aluminum cans are sold to an Anheuser-Busch bottling plant in Kentucky where they are recycled into new cans.
Tin Cans – very similar to aluminum cans— RAD takes them to the Teton County Idaho Transfer station where they are and have been stored in an outdoor area. The County will sell these materials to a commodities buyer once enough quantity has been achieved and the baler is fully operational (est. Sept./Oct. 2011). This commodities buyer will pay less for these materials because they are “dirty” and the buyer will need to clean them.
Jackson’s commodities buyer – Tin cans are sold to Western Metals in Plymouth, Utah where they are melted down and used to make myriad steel construction products. Last year, Jackson Hole recycled 65 tons of steel cans!
GLASS
Mixed Glass – RAD takes it to Teton County Idaho, where it is stored until they crush it and use it for road base. This is amongst one of the most efficient methods of recycling glass known today. Their most recent use was actually at the transfer station where the county used 3-4 years worth of glass for a 2-inch thick base in front of the main transfer building.
Some information site from the Teton County, WY Jackson Recycling Center Website: http://www.tetonwyo.org/AgencyTopic.asp?topicID=251096
Bins & Bin Placement
Bins
We will need you to use your own bins for the first 4-6 weeks of service (est. delivery date Nov. 15).
The reason for the delay in providing RAD bins is
that after much research and advice we discovered that the
appropriate bins for this climate must be custom ordered. Instead of
providing bins that will crack and break in the cold, we have
invested in durable bins that have been tested in similar climates
by many other recycling collection entities. During this time please
try to use containers with lids, but whatever works to keep the
recyclables contained will work well. A suggestion is to use
cardboard boxes you would put out for recycling collection anyway.
*** Please call with any issues / questions 208.220.7721.
Location of Bin Placement for Collection
Place recyclables for collection at the end of your driveway
If you live in a condo/townhome, please place the recyclables on
the ground level outside the front/parking lot side of your
building
Businesses - please place the materials outside near an entrance
service door or exit door
Service Interruptions
Holidays
We will not be collecting on select holidays throughout the year.
All Holiday listings will be listed on www.TheRadRecyclers.com. A
holiday is to be determined at RAD's discretion, but there will
most often be an alternative collection day. Customers will be
notified of the alternative collection day.
Inclimate Weather
There will be further notice of how we will judge inclimate
weather. We will attempt to notify all customers of a
"non-collection" day with as much advance warning as allowed by
mother nature. Affected customers will be notified of the
alternative collection day.
Stipulations of Service:
Recyclables may only be placed outside the morning of collection. RAD will experience repercussions if
recyclables are put out the night before per verbal agreements with the community representatives.
Recyclable materials we collect must be under 36-gallons in volume or
fit in the provided bins with the lids fully locking on (once we
provide them to you). Cardboard should be completely flattened and
placed under the bins. Prior to RAD providing the (2) 18 gallon bins,
PLEASE USE GOOD judgment in securing your recyclable materials in your containers.
What is the Environmental impact of recycling?
Saving natural resources and natural areas
Making products with recycled material slows the depletion of non-renewable resources such as metal, oil and natural gas, and reduces the encroachment of new mining and drilling operations.
Conserving renewable resources through recycling also helps preserve undisturbed land and
natural diversity by reducing the amount of land needed for agriculture and timber production.
Saving energy
It generally takes less energy to make products with recycled materials than virgin materials, often significantly less. For example, it takes 20 times more energy to make aluminum from bauxite ore than using recycled aluminum. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a computer for 3 hours. Benefits of reduced energy consumption include reduced costs and reduced dependence on foreign suppliers.
Reducing pollution
Because most energy is generated by burning fossil fuels, using less energy means generating less water and air pollution--especially the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
Recycling also reduces other forms of pollution as well: Runoff from mining operations
and farms, soil erosion and the toxic chemicals released when raw materials are processed.
Conserving landfill space
Everything that goes into a landfill stays there, taking up space. As waste breaks down—which can take hundreds of years—it releases the greenhouse gas methane and can emit many toxic pollutants into our water table.
Keeping recycleable items out of our landfills keeps air and water cleaner, reduces the
need for Ohio to build new or expanded landfills, and conserves resources by putting existing materials back to good use.
Creating Industry and Jobs
Recycling isn’t just good for the environment, it’s good for business. Cutting edge research and development has shown recycled-content products and mechanical and chemical systems for recycling material into new products creates jobs.
As of 2000, almost 100,000 jobs per state were directly dependent on recycling; Recycling
resulted in $22.5 billion in sales and an annual payroll of $3.6 billion. Landfills and incinerators provide far fewer jobs.