According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 75% of American Waste is recyclable, while Americans only recycle 30% of the waste. Recycling helps reduce usage, refining, and extracting energy. While many Americans recycle, not many recycle right. There are many unknown rules and steps to recycle that people are not aware of which leads to the recycling being trashed.
Recycling No-Nos
Don’t recycle plastic bags, they are a hassle to deal with at the recycling centers. The plastic bags are known to get tangled and trapped in the machinery and could harm the workers. Instead, throw your plastic bags in the recycling or drop them off at a local store with a plastic bag recycling bin. Alternatively, try to avoid using plastic bags altogether, reusable bags are always an environmentally safer option.
When recycling, avoid recycling something smaller than a credit card. If something smaller than a credit card is recycled the small pieces can get often get stuck in the machinery.
Recycle Anywhere and Everywhere
When you decide to recycle, make sure to recycle in every room of the house. Don’t restrict recycling to only your kitchen, recyclables are being thrown away in the bathroom, bedroom, and office as well. Adding one more container to your room will help give back to the planet.
Glass is forever
Before recycling glass, check your local recycling center to see if they accept glass. Glass can be recycled over and over without losing its properties. When recycling glass, make sure to clean and dry the before placing it in the recycling bin. Glass can break, big shocker, so try to prevent the glass from breaking. Not only will the glass be difficult to recycle if broken, it could also be harmful to the sanitation workers.
Poke the Plastic
Not all plastic can be recycled, so to check whether or not the recyclable can be recycled, use the poke test. If your finger can poke through your plastic, you shouldn’t recycle it.
Polished Paper
Paper is recyclable, but paper items with combined material aren’t. If the paper is sticky or wet, you cannot recycle it. Items like sticky notes and envelopes cannot be recycled due to their sticky residue.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
In order to recycle properly, your items needs to be proper to recycle. Before just throwing milk cartons and plastic water bottles, clean and dry them. The pizza box can be recycled as well, just tear the greasy side off before recycling the box. Keep food and liquids out of your recycling bin. Make sure to rid of the residue from your recyclables before placing them in the bin. Also, ensure that the recyclables are clean, dry, and empty.