For the Recycling-confused,
Scenario 1: You have a toasted lightbulb in one hand. Hovering over your kitchen trash and recycling cans you wait for the light above your head to switch on and tell you where to toss it. You think, the lightbulb is primarily made of glass, therefore it must be recycled. You stand for a frustrated minute longer when an idea suddenly relieves you of your indecision and you decide to read this:
This blog is aimed to clarify some of your recycling anxieties and prevent you from lingering by the trash! It’s not easy to save the planet so it’s important to make smart decisions. First, why is recycling important? Refer to the next sentence. Recycling is important because it helps the environment by saving energy, conserving materials and reducing landfill waste. So what is recyclable?
Here is a list of typical recyclable materials:
Newspaper (free from food, paint or dirt), Paper (shredded paper should be recycled in a paper bag to prevent littering when the can is emptied), Magazine/Catalogs (matte or glossy), Cardboard (unwaxed and uncoated), appliance boxes (flattened), Chipboard: such as egg cartons, cereal or cracker boxes (take the bag liner out- no food particles), rigid plastics (ex: crates), bottle corks, glass (unbroken-labels fine), greeting cards, phone books, paper towels, paint cans (no paint), textiles (not soiled with oil or chemicals), sticky notes, shoe boxes, white office paper, aluminum cans/ foil (if unsoiled), metal coat hangers, juice and milk containers, staples
Now let’s talk chasing arrows. Those promising signs at the bottom of various plastics assures us... of what now? The only significant source of information those triangles have is the number that lies in the middle indicating the type of dixie cup you're drinking from. For clarification these cryptic markers do not mean that the plastic is recyclable nor do they mean that you are using recycled plastic. It is simply to specify what kind of plastic it is. Remember not all plastics are created equal. For more information about what plastic items and numbers belong in your green bin check out the following website:
The following items are recycle rejects:
any hazardous material, any paper that has touched food (the paper must at least outweigh the contamination for it to be deemed okay), foam Packaging material or peanuts (To locate a store that accepts peanuts, call the national Peanut Hotline at 800-828-2214), Cardboard such as pizza boxes, doughnut or cake boxes (Nothing with food on it!), electronic waste and tires (must be disposed of separately) stickers, sanitary products (such as: kleenex & tissue paper), nails, screws, wallpaper, photo paper, padded envelopes, diapers, syringes, binders, styrofoam, household glass such as light bulbs (fluorescent), tableware (impractical to recycle), plastic/metal toys
Keep in mind when it’s more expensive for recycling companies to separate parts of a mixed construction product (like a highlighter or light bulb) than to sell the processed material, most recycle centers choose not to do so. It seems that going green must also make some green or companies won’t put forth the effort.
Scenario 2: You are so enlightened after reading this blog. The light bulb basically puts itself in the trash.
I’ll leave you with 4 Things you can do to reduce environmental waste:
- Buy products that use little to no packaging (like at farmer’s markets)
- Bring your own grocery bags! Banishing bags will lessen demand and cause the industry to produce less.
- Reuse containers
- Inform others and be informed!
Trash peace,
Brittany Lawrence
Eco-Rooted Writer
F.y.i- Aluminum is the most valuable recycled material because of it’s scarcity. Next time you throw an aluminum can in a recycling bin, consider it gold.
Visit http://earth911.com to find your local recycling center and read up on what items they accept.
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