Many of us here in Rhode Island recycle, but the sad fact is that a lot of what we “think” can be recycled, can’t. Currently, only numbers 1 and 2 get through the recycle cops at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC). But come Earth Day, that’s going to change: RIRRC is implementing Single-Stream Recycling. What does that mean? All numbers 1-7 plastics will get recycled — and everything (paper and plastic) can go into one bin, thus eliminating the need to sort.

RIRRC hopes that Single Stream Recycling will encourage residents and businesses to move more stuff from the trash to their recycling bins and will raise our state’s recycling rate to at least 35 percent from the current 24 percent.

Informational letters will be sent to residents throughout the state detailing these impressive changes. Stay tuned!

While the overarching environmental challenge of our time continues to be global warming we can’t loose sight of the need to confront the other air pollution that threatens the public health.  For those of us who fighting against dangerous pollution from coal fired power plants like Salem Harbor in Massachusetts this is not news – but the fact that a bi-partisan group of U.S. Senators (there is a phrase you don’t see much !!) have filed legislation to address this pollution is significant.   Exactly how good a bill is this?  We don’t know as they haven’t released the text and the devil (and god) are in the details.   But it is good to see our Senators paying attention to coal plant pollution !

Meanwhile, Tricia Jedele who runs CLF’s office in Rhode Island is helping to move ahead an effort to focus on the old school environmental value of waste reduction.  Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  And she points out that the U.S. EPA have produced a very convincing report on how this classic brand of environmental action is good for the climate – bringing us back to global warming again . . .