Question: "I am interested in what happens to my recycling materials after I drop them off at the transfer station.  Where do they go?  How do they (aluminum, steel, and plastic) get separated? Why did they stop recycling glass?" - Shirley Campbell

I threw on my tennis shoes, headed over to Spartanburg County Recycling and got an answer for you. 

Jes Sdao is the Recycling Coordinator for Spartanburg County. She gave me a breakdown of the process from when you drop your recycling off to what it becomes in the future. 

"Any Spartanburg county resident can bring us their recyclables," Sdao said. "We operate a dual-stream system, where we take commingle materials separated from cardboard and mixed paper."

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Commingle materials consist of plastic bottles, tubs, jugs and jars. The commingle materials can also include aluminum cans, steel cans and cartons. These items are not separated by type but are mingled together in one container. The materials are pulled out and separated at the recycling center then properly separated into their categories for further processing.

Other than aluminum, plastic and paper objects, the county also will accept:

Glass cannot be recycled since it can contaminate other materials in the process.

"In a facility, glass is a contaminant due to how it can get into a piece of cardboard or other material," Sdao said. "There is no good technology to remove glass. You can't use a magnet or chemical to get the shards of glass out of material." 

Paper has a very simple recycling process. Sdao suggests that people can do it at home. 

"When you recycle paper or cardboard, you would first chop it into many tiny pieces," Sdao said. "We add chemicals to dissolve the inks, run it through a screen and filter to remove any staples or containments. We then add hot water to turn the paper into a pulp and roll it out on a big screen."

Every time paper goes through the recycling process, the fibers become shorter and the quality becomes thinner. Cardboard will become cardstock or craft paper, which then can become office paper.

"The average tree only has seven lives," Sdao said. "That is why recycling is the last step in the process. Reducing is the first step because we don't need to always use paper. We don't need to print every email."

Plastic also gets downgraded through the recycling process. Sdao said to compare recycling plastic with how cotton candy is made. 

"Plastic very rarely is able to become the same type of plastic," Sdao said. "For number one plastics, they typically chip it into tiny pieces, put it into an extruder and get it super hot. It becomes a 'fluff' and is usually used for carpets, T-shirts or jackets."

The second most recyclable plastic is number two plastics, which can consist of milk jugs, soap bottles and detergent containers. These plastics can be recycled into items like plastic crates or outside patio furniture. 

If you're interested in recycling, Spartanburg County Recycling allows county residents to drop off recyclable materials. They do ask to please not leave these materials in garbage or plastic bags, as it can be a safety hazard.

If you want to learn more about the recycling process, Spartanburg County Recycling offers tours.

For more information, go to https://www.spartanburgcounty.org/166/Recycling or call 864-949-1658.

Joanna Johnson covers education and community news for the Herald-Journal. Reach her via email at jjohnson@shj.com.