Just What’s Waste and What’s Recyclable Here in Olmsted County?

You've probably heard the jingle about there being a "proper place for your waste here in Olmsted County," but, if you're like me, you might wonder just what exactly you can recycle and what you can toss out.

Well, as it turns out, we're not alone. In fact, the Olmsted County Environmental Resources is putting on a program to discuss that exact question later today at Cascade Meadow, off 19th Street in northwest Rochester. It starts at 7pm at St Marys University at Cascade Meadow.

According to this Fox-47 story, many of us-- myself included-- have probably accidentally contaminated a load of recyclables by tossing in too many non-recyclable items. The story quotes Olmsted County's Anthony Wittmer, who said, “There's actually a term called 'wish-cycling.' So, that happens when people are standing at that recycling container and thinking: 'I don't know if this is recycling. I don't know if this is trash. But, I want to do the right thing, so I'll put it in the recycling bin and somebody else will figure that out.' Well, that's just not the case, “ Wittmer explained in the story.

Wittmer continued, saying, “And if enough garbage ends up in that recycling container, then the entire load might be contaminated and then an end market might not want to buy that. And as a result, the whole load, recyclables and garbage, might end up on a landfill,” the story said.

If you're still wondering just what you should recycle and what you should toss out, Olmsted County's website has a handy 'Waste Wizzard' that lets you enter a particular item, and then tells you whether it's able to be recycled or not. And here's more on tonight's program, courtesy of Fox-47...