Should I still recycle? Here’s how Horry County says it’s overcoming international chaos

Leslie Wilson only needs one trash can to get through a typical week at The Shine Cafe located on Main Street in Conway.

She tries to waste as little as possible at her restaurant. She composts leftover food, straws and napkins. She separates her trash and reuses whatever she can to help protect Horry County’s environment.

“Our garbage is a big problem and so much of it is ending up in the oceans,” Wilson said. “My goal is to have as small of a footprint on earth and leave it in a cleaner space. I feel bad every time I throw something away.”

Wilson said guilt over harming the environment is why she puts so much effort into recycling. Her effort isn’t for nothing in Horry County despite international market trends that have decreased the demand for recycled goods, especially plastics.

Horry County Solid Waste Authority Operations Manager Mike Bessant said as long as residents keep recycling, his staff will find a way to deal with waste in a cost-effective and environmentally safe way.

To put it simply, if the SWA can find a buyer for a type of discarded item, it will collect it, package it and try to sell it or give it away as a recycled material.

“We’re selling it to anyone out there,” Bessant said.

Is recycling still worth it?

Recycling certainly isn’t the major driver of revenue. The majority of the authority’s money comes from tipping fees that haulers pay to dump waste at SWA facilities. It brings in near $14 million of the SWA’s over $18 million in revenue each year, according to the SWA’s financial reports.

This revenue has almost matched the expenditures over the past few years, including covering potential losses from the recycling program as the demand for reused plastics declines. Bessant said whatever money the SWA manages to save goes toward future capital improvement projects.

In recent months political changes in China has cut off major buyers of American plastics and recycled materials, putting a strain on waste management companies. In Charleston earlier this year, tons of recycled plastics sat at a local landfill until something could be done with it.

A reason Horry County is finding luck in getting rid of its recycled materials comes from its mission and charter, SWA Board of Directors Chair Michael Hughes said.

While the trash collectors are often private companies, all waste and recycling are handed over to the SWA, which acts both as a government entity and a private business.

Local governments appoint members to the SWA board and its records are public documents. While the authority is not technically tax-funded, governments do give it money in exchange for services.

The SWA functions more like a private business with a mission to provide low-cost, environmentally friendly services to deal with all waste in Horry County. It doesn’t need government approval to act swiftly, and it must cover its own expenses to survive.

“That’s what keeps us so efficient. We’re market driven,” Hughes said.

Recycling has long-term economic benefits. In addition to helping keep Horry County cleaner, the recycling program helps save money by extending the life of the landfill, SWA Board Member Bo Ives said.

In fiscal year 2019, the recycling program extended the life of the landfill by more than 140 days through recycling household goods and construction and demolition debris.

“That’s significant. It’s big news,” Ives said.

How to recycle

The SWA’s recycling center (Materials Recycling Facility) on International Drive processes plastics, paper, cardboard, glass and cans. It also helps get rid of electronics, batteries, oils, paint, tires, appliances and yard waste.

Nearly 21,000 tons go to the recycling center and more than 80 percent actually gets recycled.

In addition, the county operates a construction and demolition recycling process at the landfill that finds new purposes for old building materials. Over 70 percent of these materials get recycled.

Bessant said Horry County’s SWA maintains its ability to continue selling recyclables due to a high standard by having a “clean product” devoid of cross-contamination, moisture or other pollutants that can lower the use of recycled material.

This is why folks are asked to separate recyclables to help prevent the whole pile being thrown out. In addition, keeping recyclable materials as dry as possible helps make sure they meet the high standard.

Workers at the recycling center also do quality checks on the recycled material to make sure it meets a high standard.

Some notable exceptions that SWA does not recycle are styrofoam, k-cups, paper plates, napkins, mirrors and wrapping paper. A full list can be found online.

Once the recyclable waste reaches the recycling center, it is processed. Layers of machines and quality control workers sort through it all to make sure there are no contaminants that could make the material unusable. Once it’s clean and sorted, it’s packaged to be sold.

Plastic can be sent to companies as far away as India to make new items from it. Many other bulk items can be purchased online through a bidding process.

Bessant said typically the product is purchased through bidding and the winner has to haul it from the recycling center.

Some of it — like compost, mulch and tumbled glass — stays local and is sold directly to consumers. Anyone with a truck can come and pay to haul off some of the recycled goods.

There is also a store in front of the landfill that sells items — like bikes or appliances — that are still usable.

Future of recycling

As the Chinese market dwindles, Hughes said Horry County’s SWA is having to be more innovative to keep recycling alive.

Most of the innovation falls on Bessant and his staff. He is constantly looking for new takers for products, selling it locally and internationally. In addition, the SWA is bringing in a “robot” that can better detect non-recyclable items.

Revenue has declined for recyclable sales, according to a SWA expense versus revenue report. From Fiscal Year 2015 recycling revenue brought in $300,000 a month, but more recently that number dropped to $200,000.

Bessant said the money from the tipping fee helps offset losses in recycling money. In addition, the SWA saves any money it makes to prepare for future projects. Tipping fee revenue grew more than $700,000 between 2015 through 2018.

At this time no recyclable material is ending up in the landfill, Bessant said. If it can be sold or given away, they’re keeping it in a storage building at the recycling center until they find a buyer.

And to get more people recycling, schools across Horry County are making students from kindergarten to college learn about the benefits of recycling.

Ives said many residents simply don’t know what to do with their recyclable materials. A big portion of the SWA’s mission is educating people on how to recycle, he said.

The county maintains 24 recycling centers across Horry County where residents can dispose of their recyclables on their own for free. HOAs can also make deals with private trash haulers to do curbside recycling pick-up.

Still, not everyone is on board, SWA Board Member Pam Creech said. She believes it is time for Horry County to mandate recycling to keep up with other parts of the United States. .

For example, New York has required the separating of trash from reusable goods for over 25 years.

While Creech thinks ideally the government shouldn’t have to force the practice, she said not doing so is bad for the environment and for the SWA’s long-term survival.

“For the ones you can’t educate, you must legislate,” she said.

How to recycle

• Step 1: Separate your garbage from the recyclable, making sure to only recycle items the Horry County SWA will accept. A full list can be found on its website.
• Step 2: Make sure your recyclables are dry, clean and void of any potential trash that could result in it being rejected.
• Step 2.5: For your food waste, consider composting it in your backyard. It’ll make your garden look nice.
• Step 3: Find a way to get your recyclables to the recycling center. HOAs, municipalities or private trash collectors can set up road-side, pick-up recyclables. You can also drop it off at one of the 24 recycling centers across the county.
• Step 4: Find ways to produce less trash. As markets continue to decline, reducing and reusing could become the best strategy.
  
  

This story was originally published August 30, 2019 at 10:20 AM.