Recycling in WA: Are We Just Sorting Trash for Nothing? Or Will The New Bill Fix This?

Okay, let's talk about this! The back of my car is filled with cardboard from my many Amazon purchases that I plan to take to the recycle center in Benton City as I do every other week or so.

I sort my garbage and take what I can for glass and cardboard. But I'm certainly not doing enough.

How can we make a difference when it comes to recycling?

When the garbage collector comes up my road and picks up my big bin, it's filled with all kinds of plastic and other containers that I'm sure I should be recycling.

When I lived on the west side of the state, they had a second blue bin at every home that you could put your recyclables in. This was helpful. But, then I heard the rumor...

'It all goes to the same place anyway and is dumped in the landfill!' Is that TRUE? I'm horrified! All that work and effort, and it's not making a difference?

Okay, well, we are all eating microplastics and ruining our health and our planet! So it's time we find a solution.

There is a new proposal that we should all consider and research.

Senate Bill 5284 wants to make companies pay for recycling instead of us.That sounds good. But will that mean companies can't afford to be in business?

Hard to say right? Big Business is whining about costs already. But taxpayers have been the ones footing the bill. So, perhaps it would enable companies to initiate better packaging options. We can hope.

I've spent years rinsing yogurt cups, squashing boxes, and debating which bin to put stuff in, but I wonder if we are just fooling ourselves. We need a better system! Maybe this is it!

Washington's Recycling Program could get a major overhaul. Talk to your representatives, put in your two cents on how you think this should be handled. And let's do better!

Get our free mobile app