It’s not easy being green, especially these days. As demand for recyclables shifts and importers like China become more selective, American processors are getting more selective too — and this pinch is being felt by consumers.

In Pittsburgh, mountains of glass and plastics are piling up at Recycle Source in Hazelwood amid a global supply glut, and Pittsburgh’s Recycling Collection Center is ratcheting up restrictions on the types of plastics, food containers, and other recyclables it will accept, KDKA-TV reports.

Believing that the market won’t improve anytime soon, officials are also looking beyond recycling to find ways of encouraging waste reduction habits — bringing reusable bags to the grocery store and your own cutlery to work for lunch, for example. One local campaign, for example, encourages Pittsburghers to strive for, “No plastic, please.”

On semi-related note, Pittsburgh has rolled out 1,000 smart garbage cans that track how full they are and transmit that data to city crews. Officials call it a different kind of waste reduction, saying this technology will cut down on the 100,000 hours workers spend each year checking 1,200 public trash cans to see if they’re empty, per WTAE.

In other news…

Kennywood is taking heat — again. This time the blowback involves a staff shortage that has kept some rides closed during the opening days of this season. Kennywood acknowledges the issue and says it’s working to find enough seasonal employees to fully staff the park. Of course, this comes with the dust still settling following flaps over the park’s new cheese sauce and its switch from Heinz to Hunt’s ketchup. Hang in there, Kenny Kangaroo. It’s gonna be a long season. (TribLive)

What would you say to Pittsburghers living 100 years from now? Well, at this year’s Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts festival you can put words into action with the first phase of local artist Toby Fraley’s new public art installation, “The Pittsburgh Time Capsule.” From June 7 through 16, you can visit Fraley’s recording booth in Gateway Center Plaza and leave a 60-second video message that will be preserved for audiences unknown to enjoy in 2120. (NEXTpittsburgh)

Pittsburgh is changing, and so must its public transportation system, officials say. So the Port Authority of Allegheny County is working to determine where the need is the greatest — or growing — as it outlines goals and procedures for its first long-term plan since 2006. The result will be a 25-year plan for the system, and, yes, you’ll have a chance to provide your input through a series of public meetings on the subject. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

A little over a month ago, we asked you to nominate young up-and-comers for our latest Who’s Next: Education class. And, once again, you delivered.

We asked for those under-40 individuals who are making Pittsburgh a smarter, kinder, and more dynamic place, and we received dozens of nominations that fit the bill. The end result is a class of 19 people reflecting the state of education in Pittsburgh, America, and the ongoing efforts to improve it.

Meet them here and then meet them in-person at a happy hour in their honor.

Jerry’s Records in Squirrel Hill misses Mac Miller, who titled a song after the shop and who helped put Jerry’s Records on the map.

If you feel the same, you can listen to Miller’s last album, the Grammy-nominated “Swimming,” here. No crate digging required.