This is Margdaula (or at least that is how I wrote her name down). She
runs a recycling center in Bogota. This center happens to be right next
to the largest and maybe only MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) in Bogota. The MRF
next door is run by contractors under the Mayor’s office. Margdaula can pay a higher price for a lot of
items than other recycling centers I visited as she is so close to one of the
big buyer/sellers (the MRF next door).
She does some clever things here to
maximize her profits. The most interesting being stripping all the PET she buys
of caps and wraps. She tells me that this almost DOUBLES the price she can get
for selling PET clear and Green.
How amazing is that? In the states we would never think to have a person physically do that task.
In Portland for example, the bottle bill collected PET is stripped of its caps and wraps at OR-PET in St. Helens and the non-PET is turned into its own mix of flake. I believe it is then sent to Denton Plastics in Gresham for the final stages of recycling and sold to buyers from there. In Portland we have somewhat of a solution for the caps and wraps, but in many cities around the world the caps and wraps devalue the PET stream.
I would say that is another great example of the power of the human hand in recycling.
In the west coast we believe we have a lot to show the world about recycling, but sometimes I´d argue the opposite.
How amazing is that? In the states we would never think to have a person physically do that task.
In Portland for example, the bottle bill collected PET is stripped of its caps and wraps at OR-PET in St. Helens and the non-PET is turned into its own mix of flake. I believe it is then sent to Denton Plastics in Gresham for the final stages of recycling and sold to buyers from there. In Portland we have somewhat of a solution for the caps and wraps, but in many cities around the world the caps and wraps devalue the PET stream.
I would say that is another great example of the power of the human hand in recycling.
In the west coast we believe we have a lot to show the world about recycling, but sometimes I´d argue the opposite.
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