Industry Members in Shakopee, Minn., Join Forces to Create Recycling Guidelines

Recyclable materials zip along a conveyor belt in Shakopee as workers scramble to grab what doesn’t belong: Plastic bags, shredded paper, clothes hangers, a giant poster of Garfield.

It’s all evidence of “wish-cycling,” the well-intended pitching of trash into the big blue single-sort recycling bins in hopes that it can, somehow, be recycled. But those unwanted items are a headache for recyclers, who are left with gummed-up sorting machines, less valuable recyclables and a pile of trash.

A group of recyclers, waste haulers, and city, county and state officials has been meeting for the past year to develop clearer and more consistent guidelines for the public about what’s acceptable to toss in curbside recycling bins — and what’s not.