Then give recycling employees the cover they need to tell the truth. People used to be more independent, growing their own food and heating their homes with wood from their own property. Nowadays employees have to work to pay for food and their utilities. Protect workers, pass recycling transparency laws now.

I’ve worked a sort line, helped load a baler, run a compactor. As a waste reduction educator I got in the trenches for a first hand look. Later I spent over a decade advocating that my northwest Arkansas community keep our recyclables sorted and marketable. Single stream/mixed collection not only contaminates recyclables, but also endangers workers. Mixing together unlike recyclables is bad news.

Recently I got a call from an Arkansas attorney who read a quote to me from the newspaper. As he began to read I responded shouting, “Yes, wonderful, at last!” Fort Smith, Arkansas landed in court, defending itself in a class action lawsuit for fraud. The city had landfilled recyclables for an extended period of time while charging the citizens recycling fees. A Fort Smith citizen cared enough to actually pursue a class action suit. Instead of lawsuits, how about transparency laws?

-Louise Mann