By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer 

NAPLES — Contrary to popular belief: Recycled items are still sold to various markets for a pretty penny.  

For example, ecomaine received payments of up to $236 a ton for colored HDPE plastic. That bale might have a future as new plastic jugs. Or, the recycled plastic might be destined to become playground equipment.

Katrina Venhuizen, a representative from ecomaine, was the guest speaker at a Naples Board of Selectmen meeting earlier this month. 

Her objective was to counter some of the rumors that cardboard and paper products no longer go to recycling facilities since the point in time that China quit taking those recycled products. 

“Recycling is alive and well. We are getting great prices from it. It is worth it to continue separating it out,” Venhuizen said. 

The towns of Naples and Casco share the Naples-Casco Transfer Station and Bulky Waste Facility. 

Apparently, some residents had exhibited an attitude of why bother separating the recycling if it ultimately goes into the trash bin. 

Naples Town Manager John Hawley introduced Venhuizen. Then, she gave her presentation via Zoom. 

“She is here to answer some previously asked questions about the rationale of sorting our recyclables for disposal in a perceived market where recyclables have no value,” Hawley said. 

Venhuizen took the floor. 

“I have great details of what is going on with the markets. We follow through with where our recycling goes to make sure. No one is going to pay this amount of money and just turn around and drop it in the trash,” she said.

“China, a couple years ago, stopped taking paper. So that they aren’t taking paper anymore,” she said. 

Now-a-days, ecomaine’s recycled paper has been going to places in Vietnam and Malaysia to name a few, but also to domestic markets.

 “The United States has paper mills that we have been sending mixed paper to. The prices were up to $100 a ton. We are getting a decent amount for the paper,” she said. 

“The next thing is cardboard. We have never had a negative number in the cardboard — almost $200 a ton. In some cases, it was $142 a ton that we are being paid for this amount of material,” she said.

She got into a heavier topic with the discussion of metals, which are divided into two types. Metals have a domestic market in Pennsylvania.

Some of the uses of recycled metal include: new bicycle parts, re-usable water bottles. A bale of steel and tin cans is worth about $100. 

More plastics than ever are being recycled. People can recycle the Oakhurst products and the salad dressing bottles, she said. 

“Plastics — they are paying over $200 per ton. Nobody pays that and turn around and puts it in the ocean. Recycling is alive and well,” she said. 

According to the 2020 report on the ecomaine website, colored HDPE plastics drew $236 a ton. Meanwhile, the natural colored HDPE plastics bale garnered between $575 and $881 a ton, the report said.

“We always send our plastics inside the country. So, when China stopped taking plastics that didn’t change us [our behavior] as far that goes,” she said. “Everything you give us gets sorted and sent off.”

Chairman Jim Grattelo spoke

“This is good. There is a disconnect. There are people in this town said that say the trucks leave the transfer station and sell the recyclables to another recycling facility,” Grattelo said. 

“You have a contract with us so your trucks would come to ecomaine,” Venhuizen said. 

Resident Priscilla Kyle asked about the pizza boxes that for a while have been considered trash at recycling sites. 

“A very dirty pizza box is bad. We allow pizza boxes to be recycled. If you were to open the lid and the bottom is covered with grease, tear off the top and throw away the bottom,” Venhuizen said. “We can at least recycle the top.”

“Only between 1 to 5 percent of your recycling was contaminated,” she said.  

“Your town is going a great job. But that doesn’t mean it is okay to slack. Keep on separating your recycling,” she said. 

By going onto YouTube and typing in ecomaine virtual, people can take virtual tours of the facility.