Baltimore DPW shows what happens when 'contaminants' mix in with recyclables: It all gets trashed

If just one piece of contamination gets mixed in with recycling materials, the entire bin could be trashed.When it comes to recycling, most people know that paper, plastic and metal all go in those blue bins. The Baltimore City Department of Public Works showed 11 News the most common form of contaminants, and its crews are working to reduce the amount of waste.On a recent 5 a.m. run, DPW workers collected recycling throughout the city — a scene that has played out in one form or another since Baltimore began collecting residential recycling by 1992.The city now collects anywhere between 2,000 and 2,500 tons of recycling each month, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. “There needs to be a lot more thought behind recycling,” said Toya Sykes, the DPW’s chief of solid waste administration. “Yes, it’s true that you put your recycling in the blue bin, but there’s a lot of work that goes into making sure we are recycling correctly.”Baltimore uses a single-stream recycling system, which means paper, plastic, glass and metal all go into the same bin for collection.Anything that does not meet the criteria is known as contamination. The current contamination rate in Baltimore is 21%.”The contamination recycling right now in the city of Baltimore is extremely high, and we’re trying to create the positive narrative of how our residents should be recycling,” Sykes told 11 News.A steady stream of trucks queued at the Northwest Transfer Station on Reisterstown Road to unload recyclables as a team of workers pulled out as much contamination as possible.”It’s awful. It takes a lot of time and effort, obviously,” Sykes told 11 News. “Our residents are participating in the program, but when they’re not recycling correctly, it just it kind of voids out the effort.”While trash bags may be filled with recyclables, the bag itself is not recyclable, so the entire thing gets trashed.”Once it’s contaminated, it’s contaminated,” Sykes told 11 News. “We can’t pick through it to take out the good pieces.”Top contaminants include items like textiles, batteries, hoses, wire, construction materials and anything that may still be covered in food.Here is a list of just some of the items that are recyclable:Beverage cansBottlesNewspapersItems the DPW receives that are not recyclable sometimes include:ShirtsPizza boxesPlastic bagsIn 2024, the Maryland Department of the Environment authorized a Statewide Recycling Needs Assessment that shows contaminants can lead to equipment downtime, increased processing and disposal costs, and even an increase in workplace injuries.| LINK: Read the MDE Statewide Recycling Needs Assessment report (PDF)The report shows contaminants can also negate the reason many people recycle in the first place.”People should care because it is environmentally important, obviously. Bad recycling or contaminated recycling affects our overall environmental footprint here in our city,” Sykes told 11 News.Reducing the contaminants also reduces the rate charged to the city by Waste Management and Recycling Service to dispose of the city’s trash, which not only helps the environment, but also the budget.