Recycling in Compton: What Happens After Collection and Why It Matters
- Compton Chamber Admin
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
A quarter of the twenty-first century has already passed, and many Americans still believe plastic recycling is effectively reducing plastic waste.
In Compton, as in most cities, what residents observe and what actually happens after collection tell a very different story. Recycling carts are sometimes emptied alongside regular trash, and even when they are collected separately, most plastics are not ultimately recycled.
This gap between expectation and reality is not caused by resident behavior. It reflects how the system itself operates.
When Recycling Is Co-Collected With Trash, It Is Treated as Trash
When recycling carts and trash carts are emptied together, those materials are not recycled. There is no later separation, no secondary recovery stage, and no downstream rescue process. Once plastics are co-collected with trash, they are handled as waste and disposed off accordingly.
There is also no item-by-item evaluation of plastics. No one checks whether containers are clean or rinsed. No one inspects individual items.
Decisions about whether plastics will be recycled are made before collection, based on market value and processing cost—not on household sorting efforts.
Sorting at home does not override those decisions.
Who Handles Compton’s Waste
The City of Compton contracts with Republic Services for waste and recycling collection. Materials placed in blue recycling carts are transported to transfer and sorting facilities, not to plastic recycling plants. At these facilities, only easily recoverable plastics with immediate resale value are separated. The remainder—well over 85 percent of collected plastics—is sent to landfill.
Deposit-return bottle recycling centers operating in Compton handle a limited, subsidized stream of beverage containers. Deposit-return centers recycle bottles; curbside plastics largely go to landfill.
Do National Recycling Rates Apply to Compton? Yes.
Compton does not operate a unique recycling system. It relies on the same hauling infrastructure, the same sorting methodology, and the same national and global commodity markets as other U.S. cities. As a result, Compton’s plastic recycling outcomes fall within the same ranges observed nationwide.
Across the United States:
Only ~5–6% of all plastic waste is recycled
Only ~10–15% of plastic placed in recycling carts is recycled
~80–95% of plastics produced are effectively non-recyclable, and are deposited in landfills.
These figures are consistent with data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the OECD, and industry reporting. There is no credible evidence that Compton exceeds these recovery rates, nor is there a realistic mechanism by which it could.
In practical terms, this means that the vast majority of plastic collected in Compton—regardless of how carefully it is sorted—ends up discarded and deposited in landfills.
Which Plastics Are Actually Recyclable
Despite the symbols printed on packaging, only two plastics are meaningfully recyclable at scale in curbside systems:
All other plastics—codes #3 through #7—are effectively non-recyclable in curbside programs. This includes food containers, films, bags, clamshells, takeout packaging, utensils, lids, and mixed or colored plastics. These materials dominate modern packaging and account for most plastic waste.
The Recycling Symbols Are Commonly Misunderstood
The triangle of arrows printed on plastic containers is not a recycling guarantee. It is a resin identification label that indicates plastic type, not whether the item can or will be recycled. The arrows themselves have no regulatory meaning. They function as a visual cue that suggests environmental responsibility without ensuring recoverability.
Most plastics carrying these symbols are landfilled.
Why New Plastic Is Cheaper Than Recycled Plastic
Recycled plastic is inconsistent in quality, limited in supply, and often more expensive to use. Virgin plastic—produced from petroleum—is clean, uniform, and inexpensive. As U.S. petroleum production increases, plastic feedstocks become more abundant and cheaper, further undercutting recycling.
Manufacturers choose new plastic because the system rewards production, not recovery. Recycling loses because it cannot compete economically.
Why Plastic Recycling Falls Short
Plastic recycling does not fail because residents are careless or uninformed. It fails because most plastics were never designed to be recycled in the first place, and the system defaults to disposal once materials lose market value.
When we say “buyers,” we mean plastic goods manufacturers and processors that purchase recycled plastic as an input for new products. These include companies that make items like packaging, plastic lumber, pipes, carpeting, or containers using recycled resin. If these companies can buy new (virgin) plastic more cheaply, more consistently, and with better quality—which is often the case—they simply do not buy recycled plastic. When there are no buyers willing to pay enough to cover sorting and processing costs, the material has no market value, and the waste system defaults to disposal. Note: Manufacturers (bottles, containers, plastic goods, etc) buy virgin plastic resin from petrochemical producers, not from recycling programs because virgin plastic resin is cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable than recycled plastic. Major petrochemical producers that convert oil/gas feedstocks into plastic resins — such as Chevron Phillips Chemical or Westlake Corporation — are not based in Compton. They operate large facilities in states like Texas or Louisiana, and supply Southern California through distribution networks and warehouses.
Sorting plastics is a performance act—environmental theater, not a solution. “Recycling” has served as cover for limitless unchecked plastic production while shifting responsibility onto households kept in the dark about how the system actually works.
What Compton Residents Can Do — Beyond Sorting Plastic
Residents are not powerless, but meaningful impact does not come from sorting harder. It comes from reducing demand and demanding accountability.
Reduce plastic use where you have real control.
Choose fresh foods over packaged foods.
Avoid clamshells, pouches, and multi-layer packaging.
Use refillable containers.
Support businesses that minimize plastic packaging.
Focus recycling where it actually works.
Recycle paper, cardboard, glass, and metal—materials with reliable recovery markets. Be realistic about plastics.
Ask for transparency.
Residents can ask the city and its hauler what percentage of plastics collected in Compton are actually recycled, which plastics are recovered, when recycling is bypassed, and where unrecovered materials are landfilled.
Support upstream responsibility.
Support policies that reduce single-use plastics and require manufacturers to pay for the waste they generate, including extended producer responsibility laws and reuse-based systems.
Speak honestly about what you observe.
If recycling is co-collected with trash, say so calmly and factually. Transparency begins with accurate observation.
Organic Waste in Compton: What Happens to Food Scraps and Yard Waste
Unlike plastic, organic waste—food scraps and yard trimmings—can be meaningfully diverted from landfills when it is collected and handled properly. In Compton, organic waste is intended to be separated into green waste carts and collected by the city’s waste hauler, Republic Services, for composting or other organic processing.
When organic waste is kept separate from trash, it can be turned into compost, mulch, or soil amendments, reducing landfill volume and methane emissions. This is one of the few waste streams where resident participation can actually make a difference, because organic material has a stable end use and does not depend on volatile commodity markets in the same way plastics do.
However, organic diversion only works when contamination is kept low. When food waste is mixed with plastic packaging, utensils, or trash, entire loads may be rejected and sent to landfill. This means the benefit of organic waste collection depends less on perfect sorting and more on keeping obvious non-organic materials out of the green cart.
For residents, the takeaway is simple and practical:
Separating organic waste is one of the few household actions that reliably changes the outcome. When food scraps and yard trimmings are kept out of the trash and free of plastic, they are routed to composting or organic processing facilities instead of landfills. Unlike plastics, organic waste does not depend on resale markets or buyers. When it is collected separately, it is processed by default. In contrast, plastics placed in recycling carts are only recycled if they have market value; most do not and are discarded.
In contrast to plastic recycling, organic waste diversion addresses waste upstream and downstream at the same time—reducing landfill use while returning nutrients to the soil. It is not a cure-all, but it is one of the few parts of the waste system that can still function as intended when supported by clear rules and honest expectations.
A Note on Compton’s Composting Program
Compton participates in California’s organic waste diversion requirements by providing green waste collection for yard trimmings and food scraps through its contracted hauler, Republic Services. This program exists primarily to keep organic material out of landfills, where it would otherwise generate methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
When organic waste is placed in the green cart without plastic contamination, it is routed to composting or organic processing facilities rather than buried in a landfill. Unlike plastic recycling, this process does not depend on volatile resale markets or buyers. Separated organic waste is processed by default, not conditionally.
The effectiveness of Compton’s composting program depends less on perfect sorting and more on a simple rule: keep plastics out of the green cart. Food scraps, yard trimmings, and approved compostable paper can be handled as intended; plastic packaging, bags, and utensils undermine the process and can cause rejection.
For residents, this means organic waste separation is one of the few waste-related actions that consistently produces a different outcome—diversion instead of disposal—when done correctly.
Closing
A quarter of the new century has passed, and we still behave as though plastic recycling is solving the problem it was meant to address. It is not. Sorting plastics creates the appearance of responsibility while leaving production untouched.
Real solutions begin upstream: reducing plastic use, eliminating single-use packaging, and holding producers—not residents—accountable for materials that cannot be recovered. Communities deserve clarity, not comfort. Once the illusion is set aside, real progress can finally begin.
