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Trash your clamshell plastic

Placing plastics and containers in recycling could contaminate other materials in the recycling process.

Clamshell containers, often used to hold salads and baked goods, are often mistakenly treated as recyclable because they are made of plastic.

According to Paul Hubert, Ward 8 councillor, sorting out the contaminants is costly for recycling companies especially with the current state of the economy.

“The market conditions have drastically changed so [companies] are getting far less from the product and the open market,” Hubert said. “And having contaminated product increases their costs. It takes more to sort out.”

Hubert added people have the misconception of believing the containers are recyclable because they are marked with the “number one” like other recyclable plastics.

“This has created a large amount of frustration and confusion,” he said. “We have had a number of complaints.”

Jay Stanford, director of environmental programs and solid waste with the City of London, affirmed this is causing problems across London and Canada.

“The contractors are leaving [contaminated material] behind because it is not on our list of currently recyclable materials,” he said. “We collect plastic bottles, tubs and jugs. The ‘number one’ plastic is not on our list of recyclables,” he said.

Despite the difficulty expressed by Hubert in addressing the issue, he mentioned discussions were underway.

“I think there’s a negotiation going on at the provincial level to utilize the same kind of plastic,” he said.

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