Sadly, many people justify excess waste because they recycle. But not everything tossed in our blue bins is actually recyclable. Let’s look at how to recycle the most effectively.
- Know what’s recyclable in your area. This is the most important step in recycling! Each waste hauler accepts different items, which is determined by demand. Don’t just go by the recycle triangle on the bottom, or what someone can recycle in another city/county. If there’s no market for it or it’s cost prohibitive to reclaim the materials, it can’t be recycled. Install the WMCartwise smart phone app to learn how to dispose of a wide range of items.
- Don’t Bag It–Please, please, please, no plastic bags of any kind in the blue bins! The bags tangle and jam the machinery and cause all kinds of problems.
- Clean and Dry Matters!–For all containers, give a quick rinse and let dry before adding to recycle bin. Loads that are contaminated by rotting food debris, liquids and mold can’t be recycled.
- When in Doubt, Trash It–Have you ever thought, “This might be recyclable, so I’ll put it in, just in case”? This is called “wish-cycling”. Common wish-cycling items are plastic bags, plastic-lined paper cups or milk cartons, paper towels and napkins, broken glass, snack wrappers and chip bags, shredded and small pieces of paper, and small items like bottle caps, lids, etc. These can clog the machinery or be dangerous to workers. If a load has too high a percentage of non-recyclable items, the whole load may be discarded.
- Buy Recycled Products--By purchasing items made with recycled materials, we increase demand, which makes it more profitable to recycle more things! We need to support the entire recycling system to reduce the amount of virgin materials needed to make new things.
Happy Recycling! And, on behalf of the planet, THANKS!
Terra
Categories: Dear Terra