The Hostel has long been committed to becoming greener, and it’s time for our recycling process to evolve. Our local recycling center only accepts bottles, cans, tin, newspaper and cardboard and just a few types of plastic. Since we receive such a volume of potential recyclables at the Hostel, we have been driving our recycling all the way up to a larger recycling center in Savannah, so that we can turn in everything. This has become increasingly impractical, especially in the face of rising gas prices!
In doing some research on the state of recycling, we discovered that plastic recycling is not only inefficient, but that much of the recycled plastic goes into unrecyclable products which will end up in a landfill anyway, unlike glass or aluminum, which can be repeatedly recycled.
The Hostel will no longer accept plastics for recycling, so that we can both recycle locally and reduce our contribution to future landfills. When doing your shopping, please try to limit or eliminate your plastic purchases, as you will be taking them home with you to be recycled in your hometown. Please do not buy packs of 24 water bottles and then throw them away in our trash! We re-use and recycle so much here at the Hostel, from your food scraps to your left-behind clothing, to your empty beer and wine bottles, but we cannot accept the burden of plastics. Thank you so much for your consideration.
Below are several links with more information on the state of plastic recycling: