Food waste is one of Pembroke's most common contaminants found in curbside recycling. Food and liquids are not recyclable and account for a significant portion of the weight measured during contamination audits. Food waste has never been accepted in curbside recycling bins. Although items such as cardboard pizza boxes and yogurt containers are now recyclable, pizza and yogurt themselves are not.
If you have ever dropped a jar of peanut butter on the kitchen floor or had a pot of tomato sauce boil over on the stove, you know how difficult food waste can be to clean. The same is true at a recycling facility. Food waste is not only unpleasant to handle, but it also increases the cost of processing Pembroke's recyclables and creates numerous health and safety hazards.
Food residue attracts harmful bacteria and other pathogens to an already dangerous work environment. It creates unsanitary conditions and attracts rodents, which can spread additional diseases. In fact, it is not uncommon for materials recovery facilities, like Waste Management, to care for families of feral cats to help control rodent populations.
Food and liquid residues also accumulate on sorting equipment, slowing operations and causing unnecessary wear. Sticky liquids, food particles, and grease can coat optical scanners and mechanical sorting equipment, resulting in costly maintenance, equipment downtime, and potential safety hazards for workers.
Another consequence of food and liquid waste is cross-contamination. Because food residue easily spreads to nearby materials, otherwise recyclable items can become contaminated and must be discarded. That sticky residue can render an entire batch of recyclables unsuitable for recycling.
Finally, grease and food residue can ruin recyclable plastics by interfering with the melting and molding processes used to manufacture new products. Even small amounts of contamination can compromise an entire bale of otherwise recyclable plastic, sending valuable materials to the landfill instead.
Ideally, food waste should be composted, as composting is the best way to recover the valuable nutrients and organic matter it contains. Pembroke's Wilson E. Whittaker Recycling Center accepts certain compostable materials, and the Town's Recycling and Sustainability Committee hosts quarterly educational programs at the library to help residents learn more about composting and other sustainable practices.
Remember: Food should never go in the recycling bin! Containers should be emptied and rinsed before recycling.
