#zero waste

In Summit and Wasatch counties, residents have several convenient options for recycling soft plastics—the stretchy, scrunchable materials often used for bags and packaging. These include grocery and produce bags, bread and frozen food bags, zip-locks, toilet paper and dry-cleaning bags, bubble wrap, mailers, and more. While all of these items are recyclable, they should not be placed in your curbside recycling bin. Instead, they require special handling.

One option is to drop your soft plastics at Walmart or Smith’s, both of which participate in nationwide Store Drop-off Recycling programs. Look for the green bins near the store entrances. Simply collect your clean and dry soft plastics, place them into a single plastic bag, tie it shut, and deposit it in the bin. Each bin lists acceptable items on the side. The collected plastics are baled by Walmart and Smith’s and sent off to be repurposed. Walmart partners with various shippers to transport the waste to recycling plants, where it’s processed and made into new products like composite lumber and plastic bags. Smith’s specifically collaborates with Trex, the country’s largest producer of wood-alternative decking made from recycled plastics. See plasticfilmrecycling.org for more information.

A third option for Summit County residents is Recycle Utah in Park City. Bring your soft plastics to the “Soft Plastics” bin located inside the plastics tent. The collected material is baled and sent to a materials recovery facility in Salt Lake City, then transported to a plant in Morgan, Utah, where it’s converted into fuel used in cement production.

All three options help divert soft plastics from our landfills and give them a second life in useful products. However, it’s essential to recycle correctly. Any contamination—like food residue or unaccepted items—can cause an entire load to be rejected and sent to the landfill instead. So make sure your items are clean, dry, and approved for recycling. Every small effort adds up to a big impact when it comes to protecting our environment.

By Bev Harrison

Next time you grab a coffee or a takeout meal, consider bringing your own cup, container, and utensils—this small commitment cuts waste, saves resources, and keeps your food fresher! Takeout packaging is wasteful and costly. Paper is always best (if it can tear in two directions, it can be recycled as paper). Hard plastic is second, and Styrofoam takes a lonely last place -landfill! The paper and hard plastic must be 90% clean of contamination to be recyclable. Yet, studies show many plastics leach into food and then stay in our bodies—another great
reason to go reusable. One Park City resident shared: “Ever since I started bringing my own cup and containers for takeout, I’ve noticed how much less waste I create. Plus, my coffee stays hotter longer, and my meals taste fresher without the chemicals from disposable packaging.”

There is no health issue involved with bringing your own to-go containers, as long as the food is transferred at the table (versus the restaurant kitchen). And, if you are eating at home, be sure to say “NO” to extra condiments, utensils, and items that become instant trash. If you order online or call it in, make your requests known!

Make it easy. Stash a clean container, cup, and utensils in your bag or car. Can you make this habit in the same way we do with our reusable bag at the grocery? Set the trend and others will follow – model it. You will:
● Reduce waste and pollution from single-use throwaway items
● Avoid flimsy, disposable landfill-bound cutlery
● Keep your food and drinks tasting fresh and free from PFAS and other toxins

Lead as a business: Park City restaurants and cafes can support customers who bring their own containers. Here are some easy ways businesses can encourage reusables:
● Offer discounts for BYO cups & containers
● Post fun reminder signs and offer incentives: “BYO & Save Some Dough!”
● Train staff to handle reusables while following food safety guidelines
Change is hard.

Habits are challenging to create, but our unified choices will start to add up!
Let’s keep Park City clean, green, and waste-free—one reusable at a time.

By Jill Donello

When we think about reducing waste, we often focus on recycling or buying new sustainable
products. But what if some of the most useful materials for sustainable living are already in your home? There are countless household items that can be reused in ways you might not have considered. Here are a few surprising items to consider reusing before you toss them in the trash.

• Toothbrushes: Old toothbrushes can become powerful cleaning tools! You can use them
  to scrub grout, clean jewelry, or detail hard-to-reach spots in your home. They can also
  be great for cleaning shoes or outdoor gear like gardening tools.
• Cereal Boxes: Next time you finish a box of cereal, don’t throw the box away. It can
  easily be repurposed into storage containers, homemade bookmarks, or even fun craft
  projects with kids. You can also cut and flatten the boxes to create sturdy dividers for
  organizing drawers and shelves.
• Wine Corks: Whether you drink wine regularly or occasionally, wine corks are often
  thrown out without a second thought. However, they can be upcycled into everything
  from bulletin boards to coasters, keychains, and even creative garden markers. If you
  have a lot, they can also be turned into decorative pieces like wreaths or picture frames.
• Egg Cartons: Egg cartons are one of the easiest items to reuse. Instead of tossing them,
  use them for organizing small items like screws, nails, and buttons, or for starting
  seedlings in your garden. They’re also handy for arts and crafts projects, such as
  creating puppets or making a homemade bird feeder.
• Old Towels: Old towels can easily be transformed into cleaning rags or used as padding
  in various storage solutions. You can even cut them up to make reusable cloth napkins
  or create a pet bed. Towels are versatile and, when reused properly, can last a long
  time.
• Glass Jars: Instead of tossing your empty glass jars, reuse them for food storage,
  crafting, or organizing small household items. Glass jars are perfect for storing spices,
  nuts, or even craft supplies like buttons, beads, and thread. They’re durable and can
  help reduce your need for plastic containers.

By rethinking these common household items, you’re reducing your waste and giving objects a new life instead of sending them to the landfill. Small changes like these add up and make a
significant impact on the environment, all while saving you money and sparking creativity in the process.

By Uliana Moshina

“You are what you eat.” Most of my generation has heard this phrase at some point, usually as a warning against fast food, added sugars, and preservatives. But this same adage applies to another growing issue: the rise of microplastics in our food and environment.

Microplastics are plastic fragments five millimeters or smaller, broken down from larger plastic waste. Their concentration has increased sixfold since the 1990s due to our growing dependence on plastic and inadequate waste disposal systems. Microplastics contaminate air, water, and soil, harming the organisms that ingest them and increasing in concentrations as they make their way up the food chain through biological magnification.

The pressing concern for humans, however, is that we digest organisms and we drink the water filled with plastic. We are connected to the environment, and that environment is filling with plastic; statistics show that the average person consumes five grams of microplastics per week, and more and more research is proving the harmful effects that this has on our physiology.

Microplastics have direct effects on the human circulatory, respiratory, immune, and endocrine systems. In the short term, they can cause oxidative stress, weakened immunity, organ dysfunction, and respiratory issues. Long-term exposure can disrupt essential bodily functions and even increase cancer risk.

Now you may be thinking, “That’s terrible, but what am I supposed to do about it?” Here are a few actions you can take to prevent microplastic consumption:

• Reduce the amount of plastic you use and purchase. Instead of using one-time-use
  items, invest in reusable bags, Tupperware, silverware, etc.
• Reduce your consumption of processed foods.
• Filter your tap water.
• Avoid containers that have a plastic lining.

These simple actions reduce your risk of ingesting microplastics while also benefiting the environment by cutting plastic waste. In today’s world, we are constantly reminded of environmental challenges—but small, conscious choices can make a real impact. By choosing less plastic in our daily lives, we take one small but meaningful step toward a cleaner, healthier future.

By Grayson Rae

In 2017, Vail Resorts announced “Commitment to Zero”, a goal across resorts to achieve a net-zero operating footprint by 2030. At Park City Mountain (PCM), efforts have been centered on reducing landfill waste, a particularly relevant focus given the community’s ongoing discussions about improving waste diversion. I chatted with Erin Fulmore, PCM’s Sustainability Coordinator, to learn more about what the mountain is doing to meet its sustainability goals.

PCM is taking steps to reduce landfill waste by expanding recycling efforts, cutting down on disposables, and improving waste sorting. Currently, 66% of the resort’s waste is diverted from landfills, thanks to a variety of initiatives aimed at reducing waste. Beyond traditional recycling streams like cardboard, mixed recyclables, and metals, PCM has introduced specialized recycling programs for rubber gloves, soft plastics, ski passes, employee uniforms, and my personal favorite, snack wrappers. Granola bar wrappers and chip bags are recycled into outdoor patio furniture which can be seen at the on-mountain dining facilities Summit House and Sun Lodge.A more recent addition to the resort’s waste diversion efforts is wood and pallet recycling, with scrap wood now being composted locally. PCM is also prioritizing food waste reduction, collecting food scraps from kitchens and lodges to be composted. Inside the lodges, a shift toward reusable cups, plates, and utensils has further minimized waste, while compostable Eco-Products cups are used for hot beverages.

With all these different waste streams, sorting waste can be confusing. That’s why PCM has back-of-house waste management. Employees sort waste into different streams to minimize contamination and ensure materials go into their proper bins. Many of the waste streams aren’t public-facing, because streams like snack wrappers and compost need virtually no contamination to be recycled. If you’re at PCM, the best thing you can do is bring your plates
and trays to the sorting stations to be sorted by trained staff. Make sure all beverage cups make it to a sorting station, because if your cup goes in the trash or recycling bins it can’t be composted. Last May, PCM transitioned to 100% renewable electricity through the Elektron Solar Project.With climate change threatening snowfall and winter sports, PCM is working to cut emissions and waste for the long-term sustainability of skiing. By prioritizing waste reduction, recycling, and renewable energy, the resort is working to minimize its footprint and preserve outdoor recreation for future generations.

By Chelsea Hafer

Recycling plastic is a great way to reduce environmental impact. Plastic is one of the most commonly used materials, yet when it ends up in the landfill, it can take up to 500 years to break down, never truly biodegrading. Some plastics are recyclable in your curbside bin, and the other, harder-to-recycle plastics can be dropped off at Recycle Utah to be recycled.

Recyclable plastics will have a recycling symbol and a number printed on them. In general, plastics #1 and #2 are always recyclable in your curbside bin. If the plastic is firm or hard, such as a plastic water bottle or detergent bottle, it can typically go in your curbside bin. However,soft plastics you can crinkle in your hand need to be taken to Recycle Utah or another certified drop-off center, such as Smith’s or Walmart. Soft plastics include plastic bags, plastic wrap, Ziploc bags, etc. Soft plastics are never allowed in curbside bins because they jam the machine and slow down the recycling process. The best solution for plastic bags is to reduce use or avoid buying them.

Most of the time, if the symbol on your packaging says it is recyclable, it is. The most frequent exception to this rule is non-refrigerated Tetra Paks. Shelf-stable liquids, such as alternative milk and broth, packaged in a Tetra Pak is not recyclable in the state of Utah. These items can cause curbside bins to be contaminated and landfilled, so be very careful not to put them in your recycling bins. Refrigerated milk cartons can be included in your curbside recycling bin in

Summit County, as they are lined with plastic instead of metal. So, what happens to plastics after you recycle them? Plastics in your curbside bin get sent to one of several sorting facilities in Utah. Plastics are then sorted by type, shredded, and melted into pellets to be remade into new plastic materials. The process is far less environmentally harmful than creating virgin plastics. Supporting products with reduced or non-plastic packaging, or being able to reuse products as much as possible before recycling them, is a great way to mitigate the problem of plastic pollution.

By Mia Moore