DEAR SUN SPOTS: I’m hoping you can help answer this question. Our town recently adopted single-stream recycling, which is a great thing. The community can now recycle all plastics numbered 1–7.

However, my recent efforts to recycle meat trays with recycling symbol 6 and the yellow plastic bag that my newspaper arrives in, which bears a recycling symbol 4, were turned away as unacceptable. I was told that “Styrofoam and plastic bags” were not recyclable.

I thought anything bearing a recycling symbol was recyclable? Any chance you can clarify these standards? Thanks as always! — No Name via email

ANSWER: Sun Spots is glad you asked this question, because she has been wondering about it herself. To find an answer, she turned to Shelley Dunn, communications specialist for ecomaine, which handles much of the single-stream recycling in Maine. Here is her response:

“Though ecomaine has the only single-stream (single-sort) facility in Maine, not every town sends their recycling here; some towns collect single-stream recycling and it gets shipped to Massachusetts for processing. I don’t know which town the question comes from, but I can tell you about the recycling rules at ecomaine.

“ecomaine recycles plastics labeled numbered 1-7, but you’ve touched on the two exceptions: Styrofoam (even when it is labeled No. 6) and any plastic bags that are not either a grocery store bag or a large shopping bag.

“For clarification, let me add that the triangle with the number inside is not a recycling symbol; it is a symbol used by manufacturers solely to identify what type of plastic was used (No. 1 refers to polyethylene terephihalate, No. 2 is high-density polyethelene, etc.) and is not required by law.

“Though these numbers have been used as a general guide for the public in helping to determine, at a glance, which items are recyclable, the recycling marketplace will continue to evolve as new uses are found for materials and new equipment is invented.

“Factors that determine whether or not an item is recyclable include:

“Ability to separate: The recycling equipment must be able to separate the items for future sale.

“Future use: There needs to be a market (companies willing to pay) for bales of the material being recovered.

“Size: Nothing bigger than a five-gallon bucket will fit through the equipment used in single-stream.

“In this case, Styrofoam and small plastic bags are difficult to separate, and there is no market for Styrofoam.

“ecomaine customers can go to www.ecomaine.org and find more detailed information about recycling and view videos of the recycling equipment we use. Any questions can be addressed to me at [email protected].”

DEAR SUN SPOTS: My mother currently lives in a boarding home due to poor health and the need for 24-hour nursing care.

She adores painting ceramic pieces that have been pre-fired. We have been buying boxes of pieces from a woman in Waterville who bought a house and the attached barn was full of ceramic pieces. The price she has charged us has allowed us to continue to support mom doing her craft.

We cannot afford to buy them retail as Mom paints four to five hours a day and is skilled and speedy. The supply from Waterville has now dried up (it lasted three years though!), and my mother is starting to panic that she will have to give up the ceramics that give her life purpose and meaning.

I am hoping that Sun Spots’ readers might be able to direct me to another source of “bulk” pre-fired ceramic pieces, as we cannot afford to buy each piece retail. Thank you for your consideration. — Louise Daigle, Portland, [email protected], 773-2391

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be e-mailed to [email protected].