Recycling is amazing. It creates a healthier environment, prevents unnecessary waste, and saves a lot of energy. Out of all the waste produced by humans, 75% is recyclable. Therefore, there are many types of waste that shouldn’t get into your recycling bin. Some items can easily damage recycling equipment, and it’s important to know what to (or not) put in the bin. The following list should help you when taking out the recycling:
1) Things with Glossy Plastic Coating
Many people tend to believe that all plastics are recyclable. However, there are certain kinds of plastics your favourite recycling plant will just not accept. They include glossy paperboard materials like juice boxes and coffee cups. Most of these items have a thin plastic lining the paper, and it is very difficult to separate this lining and the paper. For this reason, recycling firms don’t accept this kind of plastics that include:
- Juice Boxes
- Paper Coffee Cups
- Chip Bags
- Frozen Food Boxes
Nevertheless, some jurisdictions like Phoenix and San Diego have curbside collection programs that recycle frozen food boxes. So, ensure to check-out all local recycling rules before terming an item recyclable or non-recyclable. Generally, most items with glossy plastic coatings are not recyclable.
2) Plastic Grocery Bags and Zip-Lock Bags
Many municipal recycling facilities will discard plastic bags to safeguard their sorting gears from entanglement. Most recycling programs utilise machines that work with rigid plastics only. Even so, these plastic bags are recyclable at your local big box or grocery store. According to Steve Russel, American Chemistry Council’s Vice President of Plastic, there are 18,000 participating retain and grocery stores that recycle flexible plastics. To save your local recycle entity repair money and time, avoid the disposing of flexible plastic bags in curbside bins.
3) Anything with Food Stains
Most recyclers throw out anything that has food stuck to it. Food contaminates the recycling process, leading to the gumming up of machines. Here are examples of food-stained items you shouldn’t send to the recycler since they will end up at the landfill anyway:
- Used paper plates
- Unrinsed take-out containers
- Used paper towels and napkins
- Greasy Pizza Boxes
- Unrinsed Jars
4) Shopping Receipts
The receipts you receive after a shopping endeavour BPA (Bisphenol A) and consists of thermal paper. Therefore, don’t throw receipts into the recycling bin unless you want to use tissue paper with all that chemical. Even though it is possible to compost some receipts, just stick with electronic versions or no receipts at all. Mostly, receipts that are smooth and shiny should go to landfill-destined trash.
5) Coloured Paper
Recycling process uses similar principles to laundry machines. You cannot wash blue clothes together with white ones since the blue dye will stain the white clothes. Similarly, recycling facilities cannot recycle white paper together with coloured materials. Mills don’t accept coloured material since when the dye runs, it results in inferior products. Keep items like cardstock and construction paper out the recycling bin.
6) Ceramic
In as much as recycling machines easily recycle rigid material, they cannot process extremely hard items. For this reason, recycling facilities cannot accept items like ceramic glass cups, coffee mugs, pots, and bathroom stuff. Nevertheless, recycling facilities with brick and concrete processing facilities do accept ceramic. So make sure to check with your local recycling entity before tossing any ceramics at the kerbside. The best way to deal with such items is to donate or resell them.
7) Broken Glass
‘Whole’ glass is absolutely recyclable while broken glass isn’t. The pieces of broken glass are not only destructive to the machines, but they are also dangerous to the recycling centre workers who handle and sort various items. Therefore, when a glass breaks, just sweep and place the pieces in bin bag destined for the landfill. Additionally, some types of glass like window panes and mirrors contain chemical materials that make their boiling points different from those of ‘normal’ glass. You should dispose of such glass items in different bins to avoid causing problems at the recycling facilities.
The truth is that recycling is one of the best endeavours anyone can undertake. Even so, it is important to realise which items are recyclable and those that are not to save local recycling facilities a lot of havoc. The list above should help you fill up your recycling bin bag appropriately. Make sure that you contact Paul’s Rubbish Removal for exceptional Sydney rubbish removal.
