[speaker001:] uh in Pittsburgh we have just recently in about like last year uh in the fall they started uh a blue bag and and blue container uh sort of program where you know is that the same for you
[speaker002:] yeah um well we just have to have put it out in a separate container is is that a curbside pickup then
[speaker001:] yeah it's curbside and also uh we have a dumpster in the apartment building where I live and there's a blue dumpster too
[speaker002:] um-hum yeah
[speaker001:] when you go to the supermarket they give you uh plastic blue plastic bags
[speaker002:] oh okay
[speaker001:] but I don't think it works out so well where I live uh I'm in in the university area uh well because the blue dumpster gets full uh with other things as well so I know that the they reject the uh recyclables when they're mixed with other trash so it probably doesn't work out too well
[speaker002:] yeah as as as as a matter well it's a matter of people starting to respect it and understanding what it's for and understanding that it actually does help everybody if they all recycle
[speaker001:] yeah but it but also uh it this seems kind of it's kind of bad but I think it needs to be more convenient to recycle I mean that that almost seems like it's it's as recycle as convenient as it could be
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] but the problem is that you have the garbage dump right there and then you have the recycling dumpster bin right next to it
[speaker002:] yeah you just you just need to uh keep a separate container in the apartment or whatever and separate there
[speaker001:] yeah but it is pretty nice though that the supermarket I'm not sure whether I mentioned this uh they give you the the the blue plastic bags uh along when you when you buy your groceries and you just use those to recycle
[speaker002:] um-hum so is is that mixed all recyclables do you or is it only uh cans and bottles and stuff
[speaker001:] well right now and I was just going to go look for the little pamphlet I have about that uh but it's um bottles and cans and they've just added paper to it but what I'm not sure is whether or not you can put them all in the same bag I usually separate them
[speaker002:] oh okay yeah New New Jersey has since New Jersey has had a major waste problem for a couple of years now um right now at least in the town I'm in they collect all recyclables paper you know newspaper and junk mail in one bag and then mix together cans bottles and that's both aluminum and bimetal cans as well as uh plastics like your soda bottles laundry detergent bottles that type of thing
[speaker001:] right I'm not sure
[speaker002:] and you just put it put it all together into one bin it's nice and convenient
[speaker001:] yeah I think I think uh I think you can put them all in into the same bin I'm like I like I said I have been separating them just because I'm not sure uh but I'm I know that the one restriction they have is that uh you're you're not supposed to you you well obviously you have to clean out anything that had food in it or you know whatever you're not supposed to put things that could have been contaminated
[speaker002:] right do do you have to soak off all the labels too
[speaker001:] uh no I don't soak off the labels because that that would be a pretty big pain I I I'm like I I'm not quite sure about the exact policy uh because I thought I had uh something laying around uh that specified what the policy was but I could never find it
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] so I I mean I'm sure I'm sure that it doesn't take that much to to remove the the labels it's at least doing something um but I know I mean if if I did there all the rest of the people in the apartment building that I that I I live in probably wouldn't because because there's just just a matter of education it's it's just not there
[speaker002:] yeah well it it it's that and also in the apartment building you don't have the fear of being caught
[speaker001:] oh that's true
[speaker002:] yeah oh in New Jersey they will or they at least they can I I haven't really heard of anyone doing this if you put recyclables in with your regular trash they can refuse to pick up your trash
[speaker001:] right well that's
[speaker002:] but whereas if you're living in an apartment building there's no way of tracing back who put in what
[speaker001:] right well what they do uh I I I don't know anyone that uh has has had had this happen to them because no one that I know has a home in the recycling areas yet but uh if you walk along after garbage pickup day uh some people will have their bags still sitting out there with a little note on it
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] which I've never read one but I'm assuming is probably telling them telling them why they couldn't pickup that particular uh bag but
[speaker002:] yeah they they'll do they'll do that here too if uh you put out let's say your glass and cans in a paper bag they'll put a big orange sticker on it saying put it out in a plastic bag or a separate container
[speaker001:] um-hum you know what though I bet if they they could certainly just stick the the rental company with with the uh with the bill or or whatever and they just give the rental have the rental company have more responsibility because they're really
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] in that respect they're the only people who could have any you know any control over over it over over educating their tenants or you know
[speaker002:] yeah the the the problem with that is it's such a long way it doesn't ever get back to the tenants that this is something you really need to do because even if they do a slight rent increase it's so small and over such a long period of time that no one notices
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] yeah the the only other way to uh make it a little more um useful for people to do is what they had down in Atlanta