1. Glass Aggregate

Watch the recycling journey of a GoPro camera through Sims Municipal Recycling facility. Sims Municipal Recycling will make use of its resources and build.

New York City is good for many things— architecture, culture, food, and more— but when it comes to recycling, there is definitely room for improvement. NYC’s 17.4 percent recycling rate is sadly, only about half of the national average of 34.5 percent (which also isn’t much to brag about). Needless to say, there is plenty of opportunity for the city to reduce its carbon footprint by simply recycling more. The biggest issue when it comes down to recycling is how it’s done. For some, it’s just too confusing and much easier to throw everything in the trash. Thankfully, the city has realized the importance of sorting facilities like in Sunset Park. This $110 million facility has one job: to sort.

Using equipment like huge magnets, infrared cameras, and crushers, the center sifts through roughly 20,000 tons of metal, glass, paper, and plastic each month. The seven-step sorting process gets the recyclables ready to be sold to processors in the United States and Canada as they gear up for their next life.

While places like Sims Municipal Recycling Facility picks up a large portion of the slack from us New Yorkers, reducing the amount of recyclables that makes their way to them should be a goal that we all work toward accomplishing. Curbed Video.

Glass Aggregate

In 2003, Sims Metal Management expanded into curbside recycling in the United States, with the creation of the Sims Municipal Recycling division. The company has since become a cornerstone of New York City's recycling system, processing and marketing the more than 200,000 tons of plastic, glass and metal that New Yorkers put into recycling bins each year. Moving forward, Sims Municipal Recycling will make use of its resources and build on its experience to bring efficient and effective curbside recycling services to other municipalities across the US.