The plastic lid dilemma

When you check a recycling bin, you will find plastic containers with the lids still attached. In the recycling instruction literature circulated by the city and county in Portland, Oregon, people are asked to remove the lids and throw them in the garbage. The literature states: No lids. As a recycling volunteer, I always removed the lids and disposed of them in the trash. I couldn’t understand why? They’re plastic, just like the bottles they’re attached to, so why can’t they be recycled? In checking with recycling companies, I heard several reasons why the lids cause problems in the recycling plants, so, I kept taking them off the bottles and throwing them in the trash.


Then I heard about the company Agri-Plas in Brooks, Oregon, that has plans to retrieve plastic lids and convert them into oil. They said they were going to start converting lids to oil in about six months. They also told me that they would accept the lids and stockpile them for future oil production. I decided that I was tired of throwing the lids in the trash, and started thinking about a way to retrieve the lids, with the help of the building residents.