The Columbia recycling program has its critics and city resident Jeff Krug is among them.

"It's quite possibly just a sham," Krug said. "So any work we do towards recycling things is not of any benefit because there's not really effort or money being put into it."

Krug and his colleagues have heard three rumors about Columbia's recycling procedures.

Rumor: If a cap is left on a bottle, then it won't get recycled.
Truth: The city cannot recycle most caps and lids. However, Public Works officials deny the rumor that the bottles don't get recycled.

"We actually have someone that takes the lid off and throws it in the trash, so the bottle is still recycled," Waste Minimization supervisor Layli Terrill said.

Krug wants better communication between Public Works and the residents of Columbia.

"Ever since I heard these rumors, I went ahead and asked people that I knew, 'Were you aware that if something has a cap or a lid on it that they simply throw it away or that it cannot be recycled?'" Krug said. "And nobody had any awareness of this."

Terrill said the city could do a better job about informing residents. He suggested placing signs at recycling bins explaining to residents to remove the caps and lids from bottles.

Rumor: If a full recycling bag has one piece of trash in it, then the entire bag gets thrown out.
Truth: The bag is torn open and workers sort through the contents, throwing trash to the side.

"We don't operate that way. When the bag gets to the material recovery facility it's torn open and dumped into the foot of the conveyor," Terrill said.

Rumor: The recycling bags given to residents by the city are not recyclable.
Truth: The bags are recyclable before use, but items put into the bag typically contaminate the bag to the point where it is no longer recyclable.

"Why are we using bags which are terrible for the environment and end up getting tossed away instead of recycled themselves?" Krug said.

Terrill said the bags would work, but they are not properly utilized by residents. Cans and bottles need to properly rinsed out, but they are not, which results in contamination forcing the bag into the dumpster.