Rome Was Not Recycled in a Day

If you’re like Keith, you’ve found yourself standing in the checkout line at the grocery store more than once when you realized you forgot your reusable bags… again! Now, you’re taking home those plastic grocery bags that can’t be curbside recycled, and you have to remember to bring them back to the store to recycle next time which, well… if you could remember that, you wouldn’t have forgotten your reusable bags in the first place, right? The real Problem is that hard-to-get-rid-of flexible plastic. And look around next time you’re at the store: it goes a lot further than plastic grocery bags. On this episode, Keith and Mollie are once again joined by their friend Meredith to learn how somebody’s finally doing something about this problem! No, Meredith’s not calling Keith to remind him to bring his reusable bags, although that certainly wouldn’t hurt. Tune in to learn about the Flexible Film Recycling Alliance, an industry-wide group working to find ways to keep this stuff out of the landfills. Meredith inspires Keith and Mollie to think about what they buy as well as what they recycle to do their part in dealing with flexible films, and we hope she’ll inspire you, too. As always, we’d love to hear your own ideas on our contact form.

Decomposing food is kind of gross, right? If that thought brings on the “ick factor” then this episode might just be for you. Throwing away food scraps is the easy route, but what happens to that banana peel when you throw it in the garbage? How about that chicken bone or that container of Chinese food that sadly went bad before you could eat it? In the landfill, not a whole lot! So, what’s the environmentally friendly way to deal with those things? On this episode, Keith and Mollie dig into food scraps. No, not literally! They’re joined by Scott Smithline from Mill to learn about the amazing world of food scrap recycling. How does it work? What can go in, and what comes out? And how can you give that banana peel a better existence than decades in the landfill? Give this episode a listen to find out. And if you’d like to learn more afterwards, check out the US Composting Council page on Food Scrap Dehydrators, Scott’s post to the Mill blog on what food recyclers do, and facts about food waste from ReFED. Hungry for seconds? Learn what Mill says about the many uses for food grounds and their plans to expand beyond home kitchens. And if you have your own stories about food scrap recycling or overcoming the “ick factor”, we’d love to hear from you.

Glass is a pain! No, really! We’ve talked about that before here in Rome. On this episode, Keith and Mollie talk to someone who has decided to do something about it. Moriah Fordham is the owner of Phoenix Glass Recycling, bringing glass recycling to Huntsville, AL and the surrounding county. Even if you don’t live in Huntsville — not everyone can be a rocket scientist — you can learn a lot by listening to the interview with Moriah. She’s an entrepreneur who cares about the environment and wants to fill a much needed spot in the recycling world. Her company is a member of 1% for the Planet, the Glass Recycling Coalition, and the Alabama Recycling Coalition. But Moriah has a lot more to share than just a business with memberships. She’s got great ideas for keeping glass out of the landfill, whether you have a glass recycling program in your neighborhood or not. And if you’re still looking for more, learn about what really happens to recycled glass and what recycled glass can be turned into after it leaves the bin. Oh, and check out the new bigger glass crusher that Phoenix Glass Recycling has ordered. We’re pretty sure Mollie’s hoping Santa brings her one of these, too. And if you have glass recycling or reusing ideas of your own, make sure to add a comment below. This episode might not make glass recycling crystal clear, but we sure hope it at least manages to break the glass!

The times they are a chingin’! Okay, that might be a bit dramatic, but Keith and Mollie are certainly all worked up on this episode. The city of Homewood, AL that we call home here at Rome Was Not Recycled in a Day is making some big changes to our curbside recycling program. City council person Jennifer Andress joined us for an episode in late 2021 to say that these changes were in the works. Even if you don’t live in Homewood, your curbside program might also be moving to a “mixed stream” program with a single bin for garbage and recycling. Give this episode a listen to learn about the changes coming, understand what RePower South is doing with our garbage and recycling, and help us ponder some of the many questions we have about this new system. We’re even wondering if The Gasp Group can help address some of our concerns about the idea of garbage being burned for energy. Perhaps most importantly, get some ideas how we can work with this new system without throwing some of our good recycling practices in the garbage! And if you have ideas of your own or can answer any of our questions, please comment below or hop over to our contact form. We’ll all figure this out together!

It’s spring time at last! The time when we throw off the winter blahs, get outside, enjoy the birds singing and the flowers blooming, and start a compost bin! Okay, maybe composting isn’t on your spring wish list. Maybe you just can’t get into it because it’s too hard! If you listen regularly, though, you knowthatthis podcast is all about making recycling easier. Keith and Mollie are here to help. On this episode, they’re joined by Matt Nesbitt from Field Culture Compost, a community-sourced composting company. Listen to learn Matt and Mollie explain composting made easy. And if it’s still more than you can do, learn about the services that Matt’s company offers. You might even get inspired enough to get started on that spring cleaning that you’ve been putting off! And let us know your own composting tricks by leaving us a comment.