Heads Up Mainers, Your Recycling Could Be Tagged and Rejected

According to WMTW, Ecomaine is taking in far too many materials that are contaminating the recycling process or getting caught in their machinery.

Many municipalities co-own Ecomaine, which is a trash and recycling facility. Residents and businesses aren't separating their trash and recyclables enough and it's affecting the plant's efficiency and equipment. Because of these issues, some municipalities have started tagging recycling bins and leaving them behind if they contain items that can't be recycled. The Saco Public Works Department tagged 131 bins last week.

Plastic shopping bags are the biggest culprit. In all fairness, they are labeled as recyclable. However, they get caught in the plant's equipment. They should be returned to the grocery store where the store should deal with the recycling of the bags. Unfortunately, our local grocery stores aren't forthcoming with that information, and provide no receptacle for recycling their plastic bags. Why is that?

Ecomaine has a Recyclopedia which lists what you can and can not put into your recycling bin.