When I found all this info on recycling, I was in for a surprise. I didn't realize that things I had been recycling could have caused my entire collected recyclables to go to the landfill! There are things that you must watch putting in your recycle bins, so listen up! Here are 7 things we commonly think we can recycle, but we really can't... how many of these end up in your bin? Keep reading...
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Dirty Food Containers
The greases and yuckies of dirty food containers like take-out boxes & pizza boxes makes these recycle gems worthless. The grease damages the good part of the container. Just throw them away... don't even attempt to recycle them...
Cosmetics
Because of some of the ingredients in your makeup containers, most recycling places won't accept them. However, on a good note, there is one place that will accept all brands and forms of cosmetic containers. Go here for more info! origins.com
Frequently asked questions
Napkins, Paper Towels & Tissues
Soiled paper products have the same issues with recycling that dirty food containers do. Many times, the grade of recyclable materials are too low for many to even bother with anyway. So, don't recycle your snotty tissue - they don't want it! Can you blame them... would you?
Plastic Bottle Caps
Not to say that bottle caps aren't recyclable, but they are a different type of plastic, and should therefore be separated before turning in your stuff. This goes for the lids on your peanut butter and laundry detergent bottles too. Separate them and check with your local recycling center for more information on how to turn them in. If there is no help there, you can go to aveda.com and find out more about their program.
Household Hazardous Waste
Batteries, light bulbs, spray cans... don't put them in your recycle bin. However, they can be recycled! You must go through the right places and events. One place to start looking would be greendisk.com. the problem is that many of the chemicals inside the containers are hazardous, so they need to be recycled with care, using a special process.
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Wet Paper
When the paper gets wet, so do the fibers that are recycled. And when these fibers get wet, they shrink, and are no longer of any use to the recycling community. So please, only add dry items to your bin, and keep the bin out of the rain til recycling day!
Juice Boxes
Unless your kid's juice boxes are specially made for recycling, you must throw them in the trash. The plastic coating layer renders them useless in recycling. Some schools, however, can recycle the plastic pouches for cash, so check with local primary schools to see if they want them before you throw them away.
Recycling is important, but it's just as important to recycle in the right places and in the right way. Do you recycle? Have any tips you'd like to share? Anything you see in other people's recycle bins you know doesn't belong? Do share!
Top Photo Credit: serhio
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