commingle(d) = 'stuff to recycle'

[Mark Mandel]

Alas, Philadelphia still recycles plastics of only types 1 (PETE) and 2
(PP); all others are still trash here. *BUT* those two types and paper,
cans, and glass jars/bottles all go in a single container.

It's not surprising that different localities with different commingling
rules have therefore different referents for "commingle(d (materials))".

m a m

On Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 10:41 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:

>  I hope that's not entirely what's going on in Philadelphia. Most
> Boston suburban towns have had recycling by type of recyclable since the
> early 1990s. Sometime later (before 2000), many started gathering all
> recyclables except newsprint and cardboard in a single bin, usually
> labeled "Commingle" or "Commingles".  (But not all--some suburbs and, I
> believe, Boston proper , still collect separately.) I've heard some
> locals refer to the recyclables as "commingables". But paper/cardboard
> are not a part of that, nor are non-can metals, liquids (motor oil,
> battery acid), mercury-laden batteries, etc. It's basically a single bin
> for glass, plastic, drink cans and food cans. Different locations have
> different plastic collected--some go 1-4, others 1-6. This is quite
> different from what they used to do, which was sort all plastic and
> metal cans separately (aluminum separate from "tin"), and glass
> separated by color. In Europe, glass is still separated by color.
>
>     VS-)
>
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org