VC Star
May 3rd , 2025
By David Goldstein
On vacation in Mexico last month, I thought, at first, that our neighbor to the south has a great recycling system.
Looking into it a little deeper, I found Mexico has the same problems we are trying to overcome, but they are approaching it differently.
In most of the United States, we are working to implement or improve three-container systems. We have one for trash, another for recyclables and a third for organics such as food scraps and yard trimmings. In some parts of Mexico, they have just two categories: organic and inorganic.
I saw this two-way separation system in public areas and at private facilities of tourist-heavy Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas, and learned the system has been in place since 1994 in the capital, Mexico City. It looked like public cooperation would make recyclables easy to sort, reducing the need for massive public education and eliminating the need for a third collection route.
Looking into it more deeply, I soon found that Mexico has the same basic problems with their system that we do with ours. They, like us, need more public education about what goes in which container. And they need to convince more people to participate.
I saw these problems first at a “swim with dolphins” attraction.
Consistent with the environmental theme, the site’s organic ad inorganic separation system was prominent and beautiful. Dark wooden containers with light wood lids sported matching metal plates with white labels designating organic and inorganic containers in both Spanish and English.
Unfortunately, peering inside, I found the contents of each container almost indistinguishable. Worse, none of the three employees I asked at the site, a bartender and two waitresses, were able to advise me, in Spanish or English, whether the popsicle stick and paper brochure I wanted to discard were “orgánicos o inorgánicos.”
On my way out, I expressed my frustration to a person at the front counter. She confessed, in English, “Honestly, the custodians just dump both containers in the same place.”
When I asked locals about the system in the other cities I visited, I heard the same confusion and saw the same mix when I looked inside containers
Here in Ventura County, recycling coordinators working for public agencies and private haulers are focusing outreach efforts on boosting participation and correct separation for organics programs.
By weight, food scraps are the most common organics mistakenly placed in garbage cans. Some of the reluctance to participate may be simply
Here are tips to minimize mess while managing organics in kitchens:
• Avoid fruit flies and odors by using a pail with a lid or a sealable container to store your food scraps. Empty it regularly to avoid odor when you lift the lid.
• Line the container with a plastic bag, newspaper, cardboard or brown paper bag to keep it clean. Sprinkle empty containers with baking soda.
• If residue sticks, rinse with soap and warm water.
• Castile soap can also deter ants.
Some people find these measures too difficult. Instead, they store food scraps in a bag in their freezer, emptying the bag into their curbside organics cart only the day before collection.
In addition to the two-way separation program, Mexican cities also used another collection method that has some advantages.
In public areas, agencies have erected wire sculptures with large, hollow spaces to collect cans and bottles.
People open doors in the sculptures and add these recyclables to fill the space. It was hard to tell how often people took a few extra steps to open a sculpture, but at least the open wire seemed to prevent contamination by making it obvious what was intended and what each person was adding. The program shows making actions visible to others can help lead to cooperation with recycling programs.
David Goldstein, an environmental resource analyst with the Ventura County Public Works Agency, can be reached at 805-658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org.
https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/2025/05/03/eco-tip-mexico-can-teach-us-a-couple-things-about-recycling/83390196007/
