By: Catherine Daleo
Reading time: 2-3 minutes

Republic Services, the main waste removal company here in Las Vegas, has continued to serve the community with both recycling and general trash pick up, while also using the pandemic as an opportunity to educate people about proper recycling. 

Jeremy Walters, the Community Relations Manager for the Southern Nevada branch of Republic Services, shared how the pandemic has impacted their operations and their community outreach. 

“Waste and recycling has changed to some degree as a result of the pandemic,” Walters said. “Initially as businesses shut down and more people spent time at home, we saw our volumes shift downward in our commercial lines of business and upwards in our residential.”

Changes in the volume of trash and recycling are not an issue for the facility, as they are well equipped to manage the shifts. Walters stated that “no major hindrances were affecting their day to day operations”. 

The most notable change for the facility had more to do with health and safety procedures. “We have had to deal with ensuring our employees are protected by implementing strict social distancing guidelines and other safety measures,” Walters said.  

Another big topic of attention is one that has always been a focus for Republic Services in the realm of the community – the practice of proper recycling. 

Walters discussed how improper recycling and recycling contamination (unwashed or soiled recycled material) has carried over from work to home during the pandemic, and how there has been greater opportunity to educate people while they’re at home more. 

Despite the increase in use of materials like disposable masks and gloves, “recycling contamination has not had any major changes,” Walters said. “People’s recycling habits carry over from work to home and the same mistakes they were potentially making at work, they already make at home.” 

Walters went on to state, “Now is the perfect time to brush up on the do’s and don’ts to not only create lasting habits at home, but to take these with you when you return to work.” 

He then mentioned Republic Services’ website – Recycling Simplified – a resource on how to build on your recycling knowledge and learn how to properly recycle. Proper recycling practices not only work to help protect the environment, but also helps to keep operating costs low which then translates to a less expensive service on the consumer end. 

The Recycling Simplified resource is updated “throughout the year to help with seasonal tips as well.”

The main practices that are taught are ones that Republic Services have been promoting for a while now, and are simple to remember:

“Know what to throw.” – Learn what is and isn’t recyclable. (ex. In terms of plastic, Republic Services currently accepts #s 1, 2, and 5 plastic types). 

“Empty. Clean. Dry.™” – Don’t throw away wet or dirty (contaminated) recycling, or anything with another material or substance in it. 

And, “Don’t bag it.” – Recycling should be loose, not bagged. (Plastic bags/film aren’t recyclable.)

Following these recycling mantras helps to reduce the potential for recycling contamination and the energy consumption necessary to to process recycling, ultimately making the process as efficient as possible. 

And, of course, finding ways to reduce and refuse materials that can be avoided, or finding alternative options, also helps reduce the volume of material being sent to either landfills or recycling facilities in general. For example, aluminum is 100% recyclable, and can be recycled continuously. Making the switch from a plastic product, like bottled drinks, to canned drinks, is one easy switch.

For additional tips and information on proper recycling techniques, as well as the practice of “precycling”, you can check out the Republic Services’ blog.

And after checking out those resources, if you want to dive even further, you can check out part one of our Going Plastic Free article series. 

To learn more about Republic Services in general, you can visit their website here.