Chloe Zhang
Rumpke offers residential customers a convenient, comprehensive recycling program. The company has made significant investments in recycling technology to improve accessibility, making it easier for people to recycle. Rumpke has recently expanded its list of acceptable items for recycling and now accepts #1 PETE and #2 HDPE plastics, as well as some #5 PP plastics. This includes items such as plastic bottles, jugs, tubs, cartons, glass bottles, and jars. However, it is important to note that not all #5 plastics are accepted, and certain locations may have different acceptable items for recycling.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Plastic items accepted | Bottles, jugs, tubs, clamshells, cartons, cups, plastic wraps, plastic bags, wrappers, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, plastic utensils, plastic containers, plastic film |
| Plastic items not accepted | Batteries, foam egg cartons, polystyrene, motor oil |
| Other items accepted | Glass bottles and jars, aluminum cans, steel cans and lids |
| Other items not accepted | N/A |
| Curbside recycling | Available |
| Public recycling drop-offs | Available |
| Single-stream recycling | Available |
| Areas | Midwest, Greater Columbus, Central Ohio, Greater Cleveland, Northern Ohio, Southeast Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, Yellow Springs |
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What You'll Learn
Plastic bottles, jugs and tubs
Rumpke is a leader in recycling and has made significant investments in recycling technology to improve accessibility, making it more convenient for homeowners and businesses to recycle. They offer curbside recycling and public recycling drop-offs for customers in the Midwest. They also offer single-stream recycling, so materials don't need to be separated into different bins for pickup.
Rumpke accepts #1 PETE and #2 HDPE plastics for recycling, as well as some #5 PP or polypropylene plastics. They can accommodate a wide range of plastic items, including bottles, jugs, and tubs.
Plastic bottles and jugs with a small mouth and a wider base are acceptable for recycling. This includes soda bottles, laundry detergent bottles, water bottles, shampoo bottles, contact solution bottles, milk jugs, water jugs, and jugs for cleaning solutions. It's important to ensure that these items are empty, clean, and have their lids reattached before placing them in the recycling.
Plastic tubs that can be recycled include containers for butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, Jell-O, and fruit slices. Lids should be reattached to these tubs as well. It's worth noting that some locations, like Central Kentucky, do not currently accept cups or tubs for recycling.
Rumpke is continuously working to upgrade its recycling facilities and expand its capabilities. They have recently partnered with Hefty ReNew to collect additional items that they were previously unable to accept, such as plastic wraps, Styrofoam, plastic utensils, and plastic containers. These items need to be separated into special orange Hefty ReNew bags for recycling.
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Plastic clamshells
Rumpke, a recycling leader, offers residential customers a convenient, comprehensive recycling program. The company has made significant investments in recycling technology to improve accessibility, making it more convenient for homeowners and businesses. Rumpke recycling centers can accommodate an array of plastic items, including bottles, jugs, tubs, and certain types of drink cups.
Currently, clamshell recycling is only available to customers serviced by the Rumpke Recycling & Resource Center, which includes customers within Greater Columbus and Central Ohio, Greater Cleveland, northern Ohio, southeast Ohio, and West Virginia. Clamshell recycling is not yet available in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, or Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. However, as Rumpke continues to upgrade its recycling facilities with new technology, similar recycling options are expected to become available in other areas.
The challenges with recycling plastic clamshells arise from the nature of the materials used to make them. While clamshells are made of Polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) plastic, which is highly recyclable, they are made in distinct ways that give their materials different densities than PET bottles. Clamshells also break into different-sized chips than plastic bottles, melt at a different temperature, and often have strong adhesives that are hard to remove. As a result, recyclers need bottles and clamshells separated to recycle them properly, and most recyclers are set up to recycle bottles, not clamshells.
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Plastic cups
Rumpke is a recycling leader, offering residential customers a convenient and comprehensive recycling program. The company has made significant investments in recycling technology to improve accessibility, making it easier for homeowners and businesses to recycle.
Rumpke is expanding the list of items that can be recycled in your curbside bin. They are joining the Hefty ReNew program to collect items they are currently unable to take on their own. Until now, Rumpke was only able to accept certain items, including bottles, jugs, tubs, and certain types of drink cups. Now, they can accept all of these items, as well as plastic wraps, Styrofoam, plastic utensils, and plastic containers. However, it is important to note that this expanded recycling program requires special orange Hefty ReNew bags for separation.
Rumpke recycling centers can accommodate a wide range of plastic items, including bottles with a small mouth and wider base, such as soda bottles, laundry detergent bottles, water bottles, shampoo bottles, and contact solution bottles. They also accept plastic jugs, tubs, and fast-food beverage cups, coffee cups, and Dixie cups (although this may vary by location, so it is important to check beforehand).
When it comes to plastic cups, Rumpke accepts disposable drink cups, including fast-food beverage cups, coffee cups, and Dixie cups. However, it is important to note that this may not apply to all locations, and it is recommended to check beforehand. Additionally, clean and empty #1 PET or #5 PP plastic cups can be recycled, while all other plastic cups should be disposed of in the landfill cart.
To ensure effective recycling, it is important to keep screw-on plastic lids attached to beverage bottles or toss them in the trash, as they are too small to be recycled individually and can disrupt sorting machines. Contamination decreases the likelihood of plastic being recycled, so it is crucial to rinse containers before recycling.
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Plastic bags
Firstly, it is crucial to distinguish between different types of plastic bags. Plastic grocery bags, for instance, are not accepted by Rumpke for recycling. This is because thin plastic bags, such as grocery bags, wrappers, and plastic wrap, can disrupt the recycling process and tangle in the machinery. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid placing such plastic bags in your Rumpke recycling bin.
However, as of October 2023, Rumpke has expanded its recycling program and partnered with the Hefty ReNew program. This expansion includes the acceptance of plastic wraps and bags, such as those used for frozen vegetables. To recycle these plastic bags and wraps, customers are required to separate them into a special orange Hefty ReNew bag, which can then be placed in the curbside recycling bin. The Hefty bags themselves are also recyclable and will be pulled off the recycling line at the facility for further processing.
In addition to the Hefty ReNew program, Rumpke has also expanded its recycling capabilities through the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, allowing them to accept some #5 polypropylene plastics. This includes items like fruit and yogurt cups, butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, and whipped topping tubs. However, it is important to note that not all #5 plastics are accepted, and medication containers and takeout containers are specifically mentioned as excluded items.
Rumpke offers both curbside recycling and public recycling drop-off locations for customers in the Midwest. They also provide single-stream recycling, which means that different types of recyclables can be mixed together without the need for separation into multiple bins. This makes it more convenient for residents to participate in recycling programs and contribute to sustainability efforts.
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Plastic recycling technology
Rumpke is a recycling leader that offers residential customers a convenient and comprehensive recycling program. They have also made significant investments in recycling technology to improve accessibility for homeowners and businesses. For instance, they offer curbside recycling and public recycling drop-offs for customers in the Midwest. They also offer single-stream recycling, which means that materials do not need to be separated into different bins for pickup.
Rumpke recycling centers can accommodate a wide range of plastic items, including bottles, jugs, tubs, and certain types of drink cups. They have also recently expanded their list of acceptable items for recycling. For example, they now accept #1 plastics, plastic wraps, Styrofoam, plastic utensils, and plastic containers.
Plastic recycling technologies are constantly evolving to improve the efficiency and accessibility of plastic recycling. Advanced recycling technologies use a set of physicochemical reactions to break down or extract polymers from plastic, increasing the value of recycling and reducing the need for sorting. The three primary technologies in advanced recycling (excluding gasification and cracking) are pyrolysis, depolymerization, and solvent dissolution.
Pyrolysis is a thermal process used to decompose plastic's chemical chains into various lengths of hydrocarbons, which can then be refined into plastic or fuel. It is currently the most dominant form of advanced recycling and is expected to remain so for the next decade. However, it is energy-inefficient for producing recycled plastic.
Depolymerization is a process used to recycle PET from plastic bottles and textiles. Jeplan, a company specializing in this technology, currently dominates the Asian market. Solvent dissolution, the least commercialized technology, involves applying specific chemical solvents to plastic waste to extract targeted polymers and remove contaminants. This process is particularly useful for recycling packaging plastic.
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Frequently asked questions
#1 plastic is PET or PETE, also known as polyethylene terephthalate.
Yes, Rumpke recycles #1 PET or PETE plastic. They also recycle #2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene) and some #5 PP (polypropylene) plastics.
Rumpke accepts #1 plastic in the form of bottles and jugs with a small mouth and wider base, such as soda bottles, milk jugs, water bottles, and shampoo bottles. They also accept plastic tubs for items like butter and yogurt, but these may not be accepted in all locations.
