Trash Talk

The Bangor recycling committee is sponsoring a new series on how to recycle efficiently and effectively. Those who save the articles will have, over time, a complete guide to the best practices in recycling available in Eastern Maine.

Recycling is complex. There is no question that recycling is a worthy goal and good for Mother Earth. Locally, its success or failure depends on many variables, some beyond our control.

The cost of recycling includes pick up and collection, transportation, labor for sorting, bailing and administration, capital outlay for equipment and a fee for the disposal of contaminants.

Revenue is determined by the market price for commodities, which is variable, and the “avoided costs” of disposal at the PERC plant in Orrington, or at a landfill.

Topics in the recycling series will be:

. What should go in your blue bin and what negates your good intentions?

. What recycled materials bring the best economic return?

. The problem of universal waste, such as batteries, electronics, toxins, etc.

. Composting to reduce waste.

. The commercial side: the economics of trash.

. How small businesses can reduce their trash.

. A trip to PERC and the landfill at Juniper Ridge.

. New concepts – “pay as you throw” and “single stream.” When will they be right for us?

. Recycling and global warming.

. Shopping smart to avoid toxins and trash.

. Trash and the taxpayer: Who is subsidizing whom?

. How others do it – southern Maine, the rest of the United States and Europe. Do local product bans – plastic foam items, plastic grocery bags – work? The experience of Boston and San Francisco.

. A trip to EcoMaine, the new single stream facility in southern Maine.

Readers’ comments and response to the series is invited. Send questions and suggestions for topics. Volunteer to help.

The recycling committee is an advisory group appointed by the city of Bangor to educate and advise residents. It meets at 5 p.m. the fourth Wednesday of each month at the Department of Public Works, Maine Avenue. For more information about Bangor’s recycling programs, visit www.bangormaine.gov, Departments, Department of Public Works, Recycling; or call the Department of Public Works at 992-4500.

Geoff Gratwick is a member of the Bangor City Council.