More than 100,000 tons of plastic were tossed in the landfill in 2006, according to the King County Solid Waste Division web site, yet Seattle residents are unable to recycle several kinds of plastics that are in fact recyclable.

Seattle Public Utilities lists the following plastic items on its Web site that will be picked out and thrown away if mistakenly placed in your curbside recycling collection bin:

* Bubble wrap

* Flower pots

* Bags (such as freezer, frozen food, produce, bread, garbage, and Ziploc type bags)

* Packaging or wrapping

* Plastic caps or lids

* Plastic cups and utensils

* Plastic food trays

* Reading glasses

* Six-pack rings

* Styrofoam

* Take-out containers

Marcia Rutan, community recycling program manager for Seattle Public Utilities, explains there is no market for many of the plastic items on the list.

If there are no nearby facilities interested in purchasing certain plastics, then it is not "economically practical" to recycle those plastics, according to Rutan. The cost of sorting, transporting, and re-manufacturing some plastic can exceed its market demand.

This is the case with plastic six-pack rings, for example.

Plastics like take-out containers and utensils that were once in contact with food are not accepted because they are conducive to bacteria growth.

"Some of the plastic bags are not recyclable because of potential food contamination", said Rutan. "And who is going to sort through it?" she asked.

It can be time consuming and expensive to pick through plastic food containers and bags in order to sort the clean from the dirty.

Plastic lids and caps are not accepted because they can potentially jam equipment at the recycling plant. "Smaller lids can jam machinery", said Rutan. So, to keep it simple, all caps and lids are not recycled.

According to the King County Solid Waste Division Web site, "lids are made of different plastic resins than containers. Also, their small size makes them hard to compact in bales and they can pop out when crushed."

Seattle residents will be able to recycle more in 2009. The City of Seattle has been working to control its waste with a "Zero Waste Strategy." City council President Richard Conlin stated, "instead of accepting more trash as inevitable, we are now treating waste as a resource to be reused, recycled or composted."

The zero waste strategy involves new and improved contracts (to be implemented in March 2009) that will permit the collection of more recyclable products.

Seattle Public Utilities works in partnership with Rabanco, an Allied Waste company, to maintain a contract that illustrates what is and is not profitable and practical to recycle in Seattle.

"Expanded plastics will be taken, likely including plastic cups, food trays, and deli containers...glass will go directly into the same recycling bin... and (for apartment residents) there will be more availability for food waste programs," Rutan said.

Seattle residents should expect educational pamphlets with information prior to the changes.

Liz Sternberg is a Seattle-based freelance writer and can be reached at wseditor@robinsonnews.com.

Alternatives to tossing

There are alternatives to throwing plastic items in the garbage. You can:

* Reuse plastic cups, utensils and bags.

* Return flower pots to nurseries.

* Return packaging peanuts to mailing centers.

* Visit the Lions Club website to learn where to mail old reading glasses. (http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/vision_eyeglass_centers.shtml)

* Visit the King County Solid Waste Division website to look up more specific alternatives to dumping in the landfill. (http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/wdidw/index.asp)