Recycling A Little More Each Day

Recycling: A Few Things To Know

If you want to minimize your individual impact on the environment, you can send your cardboard and plastic recycling to a recycling center near you. However, if you attempt to recycle the wrong items and materials, it can significantly slow down the process. Plus, it can contaminate some recyclable materials to the extent that they are unable to be reused. To avoid this from occurring, keep an eye out for some of these common mistakes that individuals make when they're recycling.

Plastic Bags

Due to the fact that plastic bags are able to be recycled, many individuals will place their other recyclable materials inside the bags prior to placing them out for pickup or before taking them to the drop-off recycling center. Unfortunately, these bags can get caught in the sorting machine at the recycling center. It is important that the plastic bags are processed separately at a facility that has the capability of handling them.

Plastic Bottle Caps

Some recycling centers will be able to process plastic bottle caps, though not all of them will have the capability of doing so. Ultimately, you should give your local drop-off recycling center a call to find out what their capabilities are. If they are able to recycle the caps, find out if they prefer you leave the caps on the bottle or take them off. If they prefer that you leave the caps on, you may want to consider flattening the bottle to save space and then screwing the cap back on afterward.

Batteries and Electronics

These types of materials are able to be recycled, but the average recycling center typically is unable to handle them. Set your electronics and batteries off to the side and take them to a specialized facility that is able to process them. Some public buildings and businesses will have battery drop-off boxes that you can use as well.

Food Debris

If you are dealing with a drop-off recycling center that accepts plastic waste, keep in mind that plastic is all they want to receive. If you are recycling plastic containers, make sure that they do not have liquid or food inside, as this makes the container unusable. In addition, the liquid and food can spill out and contaminate everything around that container. Prior to placing the containers inside a bin to be recycled, thoroughly clean them so they're ready to be recycled.

If you have any questions about how you should handle the items that you are recycling or whether the items that you want to recycle are recyclable, contact your local drop-off recycling center.


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