mildlyinfuriating
The size of our recycling bin's slot makes it impossible to recycle medium and large glass bottles.
Discussion
I should call her
Don't listen to the other guy, call her and let her peg you again.
Don't you dare call her!
That's because it's only for paper/cardboard.
This is the US. All recycling goes in the same bin. There is even a sticker on the bin saying that it is for paper, cardboard, cans, plastic, and glass.
Edit: as I'm learning, this may just be a California thing. Our recycling is sorted out at a sorting facility.
I'm willing to bet that the bin was explicitly designed for cardboard and whoever ordered this didn't look at the details.
Here's he sticker that comes on the bin https://imgur.com/a/lYZItfN the lid of the bin has only been locked and sealed for 6 months. For the 5 years before that, the kid was open, and we could put our recycling in it like normal
I'd check to make sure republic didn't make a mistake with that dumpster/sticker pairing. Sucks to have to take time to do this but this seems like a mistake.
I have 2 dumpsters at my business, one for strictly cardboard and one for everything else. The one for strictly cardboard has a tiny opening just like that - to prevent anything else from being put in there easily other than broken down cardboard.
Naw, this dumpster is the norm around here. It's just... If you don't lock the lid, any and all recycles can go in it. It was like that for 4 or 5 years, and then we got a new apartment management company who insists that it be locked shut.
Leave the glass on/beside the dumpster. Management’s mistake, management’s problem.
Besides would mean leaving it in the neighbor's parking spot. On would mean being a dick to my garbage man. I don't want to fuck either of them over
Leave it in front of the admin office with a note then.
The admin office is in another city like 200 miles away...
Not sure where the other guy is from, but I’m in SC and my employer has some recycling bins just like this, but the stickers explicitly state they are for Cardboard and paper only, which matches up with the slot shape. We have other bins with wider openings for everything else.
This doesn’t sound like it’s your problem to solve, but just putting my own experience in the discussion.
Don’t cut your finger trying to fold that glass!
What happens with that "recycling " ?
Because it definitely it not being recycled
It gets sorted by the company that picks it up. Anything profitable (glass, metal, large plastics) then gets sold to other companies that process it. Small plastic and paper are turned into bundles and (at least the plastic is) shipped to a country with shitty enough regulations that processing is profitable, or they get paid to make it disappear by just dumping it. This was china until recently due to the fact shipping from us to there was basically free, but china cares about things like the environment so it got moved to other poorer countries.
At least you can't throw in tires.
Sometimes sorted, the dump by my house the trash and recycling all get put on the same truck, it’s all an illusion
It goes to a sorting facility.
Shhhhh, you'll trigger the recycling gate keepers. They can't know the only reason why paper, cardboard, glass, and plastics are recycled is to make a profit.
I'm in Virginia and we have to dump our glass separately
Yeah, PA (or at least our boro) just stopped doing glass pickup recently… but there’s a special dumpster for glass outside every state store! (Liquor store)
Crazy. Maybe it's just a California thing then.
It's hilarious you think every recycling center in every municipality in a country the size of the US is the same haha. That's definitely not how it works
It's more so just not something I ever thought about or questioned.
Well yeah that's pretty obvious haha
You spend like 30 years seeing something happen every week, and you just assume it's the norm and don't question it, until people on the internet tell you otherwise.
It's not common knowledge, this person is just being a douche for some reason
Not really it's just trying to get someone to use critical thinking. Thinking everyone and everywhere does everything the same is just pure ignorance. You think Seattle has the same recycling procedures as Juneau? You think LA and Key West have the same trash service? Like obviously not and to think that is just ignorant
Take a breath champ it's not that deep
I'm doing OK but thanks babe.
Its not just a California thing, but I think its becoming less common because sorting at the facility is very expensive
Same in Iowa
Weirdly enough, texas also puts all its recyclables in one bin too
It's same in illinois
Lmao just because its in the US doesnt mean anything??? Why would you even think that?????? Not all recycling goes to the same bin 100% of the time. Many many many many places have separate trashcans for paper and bottles because you cant melt paper, so they contract with companies to pick up specifically the paper and bottles etc.
Should have just led with the sticker on the side.
inb4 “bottle and paper recyclers leas to the same bin” yea some companies are shitty and just put one bin you are correct. Not its intended purpose.
Today I learned. That's why I put the edit saying apparently it's a California thing, but now a US wide thing.
I live in California tho
This is the answer. It was designed for broken down cardboard to be slid in without opening the top.
It's not the answer. This is the only recycling bin for my whole apartment complex. It is for all sorts of recycling..or at least it's supposed to be, and it says so on the bin.
And if it was just for cardboard, then the mildly infuriating thing is that I don't have a recycling bin for plastic and glass.
It is the answer and the people running your complex are not wise, or don't care.
It is the answer because that's what that slot was designed for. Your complex bought the wrong style dumpster for your application or they should leave the top door unlocked.
Lmao you’re absolutely right.
OP even said management locked the lid. The slot, by design, is for cardboard boxes.
The infuriating part isn’t the design. There’s nothing wrong with this dumpster.
The problem is with management locking the lid.
A simple walk over to the office to ask “Why?” would give em an answer.
Most likely they don’t want people like OP dumping loose glass containers, that shatter on impact due to the fall, and then leave shards everywhere for the poor sanitation workers and sorters to get injured.
Misuse it; abuse it; you lose it. 🤷♂️
If they are mixing glass with cardboard and plastic, you can bet this "recycling" bin is really just being dumped at the local dump. The moment any of that glass shatters it's all getting trashed, and given there is a drop, it's going to happen.
Seems more likely that the glass indicator wasn't meant to be on this bin.
I have never seen separated recycling in the US. Only when I lived in Sweden or visited Germany, did I see separated recycling.
Odd I've seen it often enough in the U.S. Typically glass has it's own separate storage. Plastic/cardboard being mixed or separate depends on the location.
Around me cardboard is separated and encouraged as we have a insulation factory who maintains those services. More cardboard for them to turn into insulation (truly interesting process to see happen).
Okay? It still exists.
I get that it exists. It's just not something we do on California. It goes to a sorting plant before being recycled.
Yup a lot of people just assuming the way recycling works for where they live is how it works everywhere.
From my brief time living in LA, CA has a ton of state-sponsored recycling programs which takes it completely out of the hands of the consumer. At my apartment we didn't even recycle anything, a different facility sorted through garbage.
I live in the Chicagoland area nowadays and it's super uncommon to see separate recycle bins for different recyclables, aside from in offices where I've seen it pretty regularly.
I doubt the entire state of California does everything the same. Generally, cities and counties contract with different companies in their area and so there will be some differences. Seattle makes everyone sort everything into different bins, Tacoma doesn't do glass AT all, etc, etc.
So it seems maybe you're just really locked in on thinking this is a thing. Also...I am pretty sure when you recycle glass you're supposed to remove the lids and labels?
That's fair. I've lived in three counties that all handled it the same way. I get that my assumptions were wrong though.
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Most apartments around here have these. They just don't lock the lid shut. I don't know if these dumpsters are cheaper or what, but they are the norm for recycling. It's the locking the lid that makes it problematic
Portland has been doing it for years. I learned they don’t even recycle glass where I live because it is too expensive to ship it somewhere it is done. Any glass that is recycled is dumped or used as filler for road projects.
You are wrong, in so many ways. Most recycling centers break down glass before shipping it - it is much more space efficient that way. Most recycling centers in California accept mixed products for this reason; you have to be ready to deal with broken glass, needles, all sorts of things. You can find lots of information confirming this on reddit or on Google.
Siting reddit and google as your source of information is an unfortunate thing to hear.
I hate to break this to you OP, but you might wanna make sure different trucks come for the different dumpsters.
I have a garbage one, and a recycling one. And one day I was taking trash out and I watched the truck take both bins.
Hopefully there are different trucks I think you said you're in CA? They're usually better with environmentally friendly stuff, but I'm losing faith in our ability to recycle.
Different trucks do come for it. One says "recycling" on the side and is a different color than the regular trash truck. It's been like that in every city I've lived in, in California.
That makes me slightly more hopeful. Thanks, OP. :)
All you people replying this have apparently never seen a dumpster. We have a ton of the exact model like this at my work, the 'locking' mechanism is shitty so there's a slot on the back of it when the lid is locked. It is not "only for paper/cardboard".
https://www.herculesca.gov/home/showpublishedimage/6820/636941290698430000
You must not realize that there are more than one kind of dumpster, because I have absolutely seen a dumpster.
Yes. That is the exact dumpster we have. And it is the same dumpster every apartment I have lived in (In Sacramento California) has had. This is just the only place that locks the bar down and blocks the lid
You don’t have specific recycling bins for glass?
Not in California. It all goes in the same bin and is sorted at the recycling facility.
My mind was blown when I lived in Sweden, and we had like 10 different dumpsters for 10 different types of refuse.
Yeah, we Swedes do sort our garbage.
We have more than 10 bins where I live: Scrap metal, news papers/magazines, cardboard/paper packages, electronics, colored glass, clear glass, plastic, food waste, metal packages, batteries, light sources and general waste/burnable.
What do you mean you have different types of glass bins lol
Well that's the most logical thing to do. If it's mixed it has to be sorted later, or only use it to make colored glass.
Different color glass needs to be sorted. Green, brown, clear, and "other" all go in different bins.
Here in belgium we sort a lot too, some place have different type of electronics (Microwave/Fridge/computer) and different color glass and also one like "Other" where we can put random stuff like : Old plastic tree, matress, toys, some tube
We called the "Other" categorie : Encombrant, who translate to cumbersome
thanks for the eco friendly design! 😂
Disclaimer: Eco-friendly does not mean consumer-friendly
Crappy design. A hole would be more useful.
Or just... Don't have a lock holding the lid shut. The top used to be open, but for the last 6 months, it's been locked shut. Most of my neighbors now just throw their recycling on the ground next to the dumpster.
Well he would be if he'd designed the bin better.
The slot is designed for broken down cardboard which means whoever purchased the dumpster bought the wrong one for their application.
I wish the round peg fit in the square hole...
Recycle glass? That's not allowed where I live.
There's a way..but it's very risky..Smashy Smashy then it'll fit
Eh make a shards bin and funnel all the broken glass in it.
It will fit with a bit more pressure. Wear gloves.
They can you’re just not putting enough effort in
Good thing that jar will very likely end up in the same place regardless of where you put it.
Local council has separate bottle banks for each colour glass but empties them one at a time into the same truck.
Or maybe you can just lift the lid and put it in?
Most of the time, even if they are chained or padlocked, you can still open the lid enough for objects that don't fit in the slot.
I can't. The bar and lock is on the other side of the dumpster, and the dumpster is in a little wooden hutch. I would have to pull the whole dumpster out. And even then I wouldn't be able to. And even then, I can't recycle it, as the bar sits one inch above the lid, and stops it from being opened in any capacity.
That doesn't make any sense. The little slot to the right of that yellow sticker is where the lift forks on a sanitation truck go. It's facing front, which means the plastic thing my arrow pointed to is the right front facing lid. They don't open from the back, they open from the front for collection trucks.
Yeah. It doesn't make sense. The recycling dude fucking hates it too. He has to pull it out and unlock it, then relock or every fucking day.
take glass put in recyclable bag, smash on ground so it breaks in little parts, place whole thing in recycle bin...
Done :)
You have to break them on the dumpster and put the pieces in carefully
Why not have glass recycling bins with round holes?
It's hammer time.
Bruh, force it in…
Glass does not bend. Metal, that thick, is also not going to bend. There is no forcing it in
Take the lid off put on ground smash it flat put in bin
Not with that attitude
Use some force Luke.
You can sort either problem with a grinder or a hammer.
in the words of my favorite super mutants in Fallout 4, Smashy smashy!
Reduce, reuse…reject?
Does the top not lift?
Ah, yes: trying to fit something huge, sturdy and roughly cylindrical into a tight space. A very common problem, I'd say.
Place them in a bag and smash them until they fit.
Every problem can be solved with a hammer
my gf is always yelling at me
Case in point
It just needs a little...tap
At least you get to recycle glass. It's just trash now where I live.
With enough force, everything fits.
Be thankful they still take glass.
They stopped recycling glass in my area over a decade ago.
Push harder.
If that's a glass jar then re-use it for something. Plenty of options around a house for a good looking jar like that!
you can smash the bottle to bits. like place it into a durable bag, go outside and use a sledgehammer (if you have one) to smash them, then throw the bag out.
I'm pretty sure shattered glass isn't recyclable. At least that's what I've always been told, and that's what me brief Google searches are telling me.
Also that sounds insane, and I'm not going to do that.
That doesn't make sense, since there's going to be a decent amount of breakage just from getting thrown in the bin...
You're right. I guess it's just the places where you take cans and bottles for the 5 cent refund that won't accept them. It does seem that broken glass does involve a lot more work to recycle though.
Probably because the colors can't be separated so easily.
Just like it is in plastics, clear is the highest value because it has nothing else in it. Green, brown, amber or other colors of glass would have less value even if they were separated properly.
Companies want a consistent stream of material to work with, so a recycled supplier that can't keep their glass colors consistent from batch to batch will not do well.
Why would broken glass not be recyclable? It all gets broken as it gets moved and emptied
Oh sure, but there's probably a point where they want to separate the clear/brown/green/etc colors and that's near impossible to do with broken chips.
Clear glass will always be the most valuable and even a few chips of color in there can ruin a batch. Colored glass will retain value only if it's consistent, and mixed batches will not have that.
Personally I wouldn't mind a little variation in glass colors but I understand why a bottling company or a glass foundry wouldn't!
okay, I respect your choice - and my idea does sound a bit dangerous. I actually didn't know shattered glass wasn't recyclable. so I just learned a new thing.
It is much harder to recycle smaller pieces of any material.
once again, I just learned a new thing as well - so smaller pieces are not recyclable due them being harder to do so. thanks for the fact.
Doesnt really matter. It'll be dropped for a few meters high when the truck loads it, then it'll be shredded before being melted.
these dumpsters get lifted over the truck and the contents go falling in—glass definitely breaks as a normal part in the process.
Then dumped out again at the recycling plant, breaking more.
Do you know how they recycle glass? It's smashed into little bits first before melting it...
Today I learned
You can break the glass. You just shouldn't if you're trying to get CRV for a bottle. They break them as part of the recycling process, the last part being melting it down.
It’s probably for paper and cardboard only.
It's not. Here's the sign on the dumpster, saying what can go into it https://imgur.com/a/lYZItfN
Also it is the only recycling bin in my whole apartment complex
Wow that’s wild! 🤯
Use semen as lubricant
Is glass really recyclable?
break it in half vertically
The glass jar or the dumpster?
Why not both?
First one then the other
Yes
https://i.redd.it/6p2bl39hkwbf1.gif
I think you could smash it in a sack
Bust it in a bag