What Not to Recycle at Home on America Recycles Day
Plastic bags are recyclable but not via curbside bins. Don’t wish-cycle these at home.
As America Recycles Day approaches November 15, resolve to avoid wish-cycling at home.
Recycling more is of course one great way to reduce waste going to the landfill. However, if you try to recycle something that is in fact not recyclable, you’re only contaminating a valuable stream of commodities that can get turned into new things.
This well-intentioned environmental calamity is called “wish-cycling.”
You know the feeling. You think, “I know plastic bags are recyclable.” So you throw them in your curbside bin at home with the cans and bottles, instead of taking them with you to the grocery store to recycle properly there.
Plastic bags are among the most common contaminants to the recycling stream. They mess up the machinery that handles curbside recyclables, and should be processed by a separate system. Most large retailers accept plastic bags for recycling, and send them to facilities that can properly recycle those plastics into materials that can be used to make new things like lumber for decking and playground equipment.
Recycled plastic bags primarily get turned into new plastic bags, which saves natural resources, but keep in mind more than 1 trillion plastic bags have been made so far – this year!
As America Recycles Day approaches November 15, resolve to avoid wish-cycling at home. It’s easy. Just follow WasteLessWednesday’s simple list:
The Top 5 Things We Wish You Wouldn’t Try to Recycle At Home
Plastic Bags: See above. Recycle them at the store. Try reusable bags instead.
Bubble Wrap: Throw this stuff in with the plastic bags and take it to to the store for proper recycling. Generally speaking, any plastic you can poke your finger through (like paper towel and toilet paper packaging) can go in as well.
Shredded Paper: It’s also a recycling machinery nuisance. Try to minimize what you shred and check locally for the best ways to recycle what you have.
Styrofoam: Find out if your community has a polystyrene recycling center near you.
Bottle Caps: Anything smaller than 2”x2” will also gum up the recycling works. Dental floss and deodorant containers. Hotel toiletry bottles. We know it hurts, but Throw. Them. In. The. Trash.
Remember–and it pains us at WasteLessWednesday to say this–but If In Doubt Toss It Out!
Happy America Recycles Day! Find out more by checking with our friends at Keep America Beautiful. And follow #WasteLessWednesday by clicking here.