Alyce Crider: Why won’t reyclers take plastics, cans, pallets, styrofoam?

I live in the country. I believe in recycling and have been doing it for years, waiting until I have a large load to take in.

Two weeks ago, a large load was taken to Kings View in Atwater. We had to bring back half the load as they no longer take: scrap plastic, glass, styrofoam, plastic bags, aerosol cans, pallets, plastic or cardboard food containers. We were told to put it in the garbage.

We lived several years in Southern California and saw two landfills overflow then close. The county had to go several miles to find a new location, which increased the garbage costs. The other alternative would be to put refuse on barges and haul it several miles and dump it into the Pacific.

We’re told the government no longer subsidizes recycling, nor is China any longer buying our plastic. We frequently hear of the outstanding brains and researchers residing at UC Merced. Perhaps some of them might put their heads together and find a way to recycle the above items and create a new manufacturing plant, thus creating jobs. Continuing to dump recyclables in our landfill will create a manmade Mt. Everest.

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Alyce Crider: Why won’t reyclers take plastics, cans, pallets, styrofoam?."