7 Tips to Recycle Better - Earth Day

Even though these bags are technically recyclable, you must go to a drop-off area to do that, not your curbside bin. Plastic bags are the number ... SkiptoContent EndPlasticPollution 7TipstoRecycleBetter Home NewsandStories 7TipstoRecycle… Share February25,2022 Recyclingisaregionalenterprise,andeachcityhasdifferentrules,whichcomplicatesthingsforresidentswhojustwanttoknowhowtorecyclecorrectly.Thetruthisthatrecyclingisconfusing. “There’salotofdifferentrules,andevenifthere’sanunderstandingofwhatcanberecycled,theremaybedifferentrulesindifferentjurisdictions,”saysJeffreyRaymond,chiefofcommunicationsandcommunityaffairsforBaltimore’sDepartmentofPublicWorks.“Intermsofcommunicatingallthis,wehavetowalkalinebetweengettingpeopletomakerecyclingassimpleaspossible,andnotmakingitsointimidatinganddifficultthattheydon’trecycleatall.” Belowareafewrecyclingbestpractices: 1.Nobags.Likereally,nobags. Grocerybags dissolveintopotentiallyharmfulmicroplastics and,inthecaseofingestionorentanglement, hurtandkillanimals.They’reprettymuchtheworst.Eventhoughthesebagsaretechnicallyrecyclable,youmustgotoadrop-offareatodothat,notyourcurbsidebin. Plasticbagsarethenumber-onecontaminantinrecyclingloads.Plasticbagsactas“tanglers,”gettingcaughtinmachineryandshuttingdowntheequipment. Insomecases,likeinMontgomeryCounty,Maryland,whenplasticbagsfullofrecyclablesarriveatthefacility,workersarenotallowedtoopenthebags,saysGriseldaGuillenofthecounty’srecyclingcenter.Thatmeanstheentirebag,evenifit’sfullofwaterbottles,isconsideredtrash. Thoughgrocerybagsmaybeposterchildrenofplasticpollution,sandwichbags,bubblewrap,plasticwrappingandotherflimsymaterialsthatdon’tsurvive thepoketest —wheretheplasticsaresoftenoughtopushyourfingerthroughit—arealsoprimecandidatesforcommercialdrop-offareas,nottheresidentialrecyclingbin. Thisalsomeansyoushouldn’tbagyourrecyclables.Instead,dumpthemlooselyrightintoyourbluebins. Solution:Buyacouplecanvasbagsandgetsomereusablecontainers. 2.Smallthingsarebigproblems Don’trecycleanythingsmallerthanacreditcard.Thatincludesstraws,bottlecaps,coffeepods,plasticcutlery,paperclips,andamillionothertinythingsthatcreepintoourdailylives.Theseobjectsaretoosmalltobesortedandcanjamtherecyclingequipment. AtMontgomeryCounty,Maryland’sRecyclingCenter,thesecontaminantscanshutdownmachines10–15timesaday,saysGuillen. Butwhataboutplasticlidsandmetalbottlecaps?youmightask. HelenLeeofAlexandria,Virginia’sResourceRecoveryDivisionpointsoutthat“ifyouputtheplasticcapbackonthebottle,itbecomesbiggerthanabusinesscard,soitwouldbecaptured[bythesortingequipment].” Accordingtothe AssociationofPlasticRecyclers,whenplasticsaregrindedintopellets,thedifferentnumberedplasticshavedifferentweightsandcanbeseparatedeasilyafterthat. That’snotsoeasyformetalbottlecaps,whichtendtofalloffglassbottles.Youcansometimesbringthesemetalbottlecapstocompaniesthattakescrap. Solution:Beconsciousofwhatyouthrowinthatrecyclingbin. 3.Makesureit’sclean,emptyanddry Foodwastecontaminateswholeloadsofrecyclablematerial,renderingthemuselessandfast-trackingthemtolandfills.IntheU.S.,foodwastecontaminates 25percentofourrecyclingloads. “Themessagewetrytohaveresidentsrememberisclean,emptyanddry,”saysLee. Butjusthowclean? “Ialwaystendtotellpeoplethattheirrecyclablematerialshouldbecleanenoughtouseagain,”saysHowardLeeofWashington,D.C.’sOfficeofWasteDiversion.“So,ifyou’reputtingthingsinthebinandyou’reconcernedaboutrodentsorratsoranythinglikethat,thenchancesareyourrecyclablesarenotclean.” Withthatinmind,bewaryofadvertisingatyourlocalfast-foodjoint.Irecentlysawapapertacobowlthatread,“PleaseRecycle.WeCareAbouttheEnvironment.”That’sfakenews.Youcan’trecyclesomethingcoveredinsalsaandbeans.Youmayhavebetterluckcompostingthatbowl,butagain, it’scomplicated. Youcanalsorecyclepizzaboxes…ifthey’renotcoveredincheeseandgrease.Iftheyare,youcanalwaystearoffthecleanpartandrecyclethat. Solution:Justastherulestates,makesureyourrecyclablesareclean,emptyanddry.It’lltakesecondsandifeveryonedidit,itwouldsavetonsofrecyclablesgoingtothelandfill. 4.Combinedmaterialsaretrash Recyclingonlyworkswhenlikematerialsaretogether.Unfortunately,itemslikeplastic-coatedcoffeecups,laminatedpaperandpaper-bubblewrapenvelopesfromthemailcan’teverbeseparated,whichmeansthey’retrash. Solution:Trytoavoidbuyingnonrecyclablematerialsthatcan’tbeseparated.Andwhenyoucan,shoplocaltocutdownonthecarbonfootprintofyourproducts. 5.Knowyourplastics Notallplasticsaretreatedequally.Rigidplasticsarerecyclable,labeledby resincodes1through7.Generally,thehigherthenumber,thelessrecyclableitis.Mostrecyclingcenterswillrecycleplastics1and2withoutaproblem.Pastthat,itgetstricky. Furthermore,alotofplasticjustisn’trecyclablecurbside.Asnotedearlier,youcan’trecycleplasticbagsorfilms.Additionally,youcan’trecycleanythingthatcantearlikepaper.Thatmeansnocrackerbags,chipbagsorcerealbags. “Withplastics,itdoesgetsoconfusing,”saysErinHafnerofBaltimore’srecyclingprogram.“Clamshellcontainers,cutlery,plasticstraws—allthatstuffthatendsupinthe[recycling]bin.”Anditshouldn’t. Solution:Checkyourcity’srecyclingwebsiteforthenumberthecitytakes. 6.Stopwishcycling Whenitcomestorecycling,oneoftheworstthingsyoucandoiswishcycle.That’swhenweoptimisticallyputnon-recyclableobjectsinrecyclingbins.Whenwedothis,wecontaminatewholeloadsofotherwiserecyclablematerials. “Alotofpeoplewishthatthismaterialcanberecycled,anditseemslikeit’smadeoutofthematerialsthatcouldberecycled,butsometimesit’snot,”saysHelenLee. Citieshavecertainthresholdstomeetwhentheysendtheirrecyclablestothird-partywastemanagementcompanies.Iftheysurpassthesethresholds—inotherwords,ifthere’stoomuchtrashmixedintotherecyclingload—thatentireloadcouldendupinalandfill. Sowhenyouwishcycle,youscrewuptheentiresystem. Solution:Don’twishcycle. 7.Teachyourself Attheendoftheday,wecan’tknoweverything.There’sabunchofstuffweaccumulateoverourlives—batteries,electronics,paintcans,toys,clothing,wood—andthey,unfortunately,allhaveseparatedropoffcentersorspecialinstructionsforrecycling. Solution:Hitupyourlocalrecyclingwebsite,andteachyourselfwhatyouneedtoknow.Thisarticleonlygetsyousofar. Demandchange Ofcourse,youcanchangeyourindividualbehavior:Cleancontainersbetter,onlyrecyclewhat’srecyclableandmostimportantly,reduceyouroveralluse. “[Be]mindfulofhowyoupurchaseproducts,”saysHowardLee.“Startwithreducingtheamountofwasteyoucreate.Onceyou’vegottenthehangofreducingyourwaste—maybenotbuyingsomanywaterbottles—youcanstarttoreusethingsthatyouhaveandrecycleorcompostbeforegettingtoalandfill.” Butdon’tletindustryoffthehook,either.Manufacturersandlobbyistshavecreatedasingle-useempirebuiltonthis falsenarrativeofrecycling asthebe-all-end-allsolutiontoourconsumptionhabits.Getmad.Makesomenoise.Demandsolutions,notdelays.Thatmaterialslikeplasticsareunavoidableinourmarketeconomyisnotyourfault. CheckoutEARTHDAY.ORG’s EndPlasticPollution campaign, findadditionalways to reduceyourplasticwasteand makeapledge to reduceyouruseofplastic. Tags: plastic plasticpollution recycling wishcycling EARTHDAY.ORG RelatedStories EndPlasticPollution Canada’sBanonSingle-UsePlastics EndPlasticPollution NoMorePlasticsinOurNationalParks EndPlasticPollution 7GlobalEffortsforPlasticLegislation Hi,ItseemsyouarevisitingusfromIndia,wouldyouliketovisitourIndiapages? Yesplease Nothankyou