Avoid These Common Recycling Mistakes

Though most people think recycling is as simple as throwing your paper and plastic waste into a special waste-bin, this process isn’t generally so basic. To make sure you’re doing everything right, avoid these common recycling mistakes:

Take covers off.

Often the covers should be process separately from whatever remains of the container. If you don’t take them off before throwing, the recycling company workers should physically experience your waste and remove the covers manually. To speed up the process and save time and budget (as some contractors may take extra money for this “service”), remove the covers off of all of your recyclables.

Hit or miss.

As you look through your waste and separate it into recyclables and non-recyclables, you may go over an extraordinary thing that confuses you. Is an old toothpaste tube recyclable? What about a shampoo bottle? In case you’re ever in uncertainty, take the opportunity to call your recycling company before you throw the thing in the container. For instance, recyclers will accept items produced using plastic #1 or 2, however a great deal of others won’t take plastic #3, 6, or 7, which is the reason you should call before assuming a thing is for sure recyclable.

Wash containers and bottles.

Before you toss a bottle or any other kind of container, it’s best to wash it out to remove leftovers or whatever else that might be hardened onto it. For example, in case you are recycling jars with sauce, give each of them a fast wash under the sink to remove any sauce that is as still clinging inside the jar.

Removing wrap-around labels is not necessary.

Contrary to the mistake with covers above, recycling companies do not require removing labels from the products, as they have special equipment for it. That’s why, save yourself a little bit of time and skip this step instead of removing all that sticky labels from everything.

Collect your shredded paper.

Of course shredded paper is recyclable, however you can’t simply throw a bunch of it into a recycling bin. Since the shreds are so little, they can be hard to sort, so put every last bit of it into a paper sack and mark it properly.

Still have any questions on recycling and its opportunities? Contact us today for more information.  [email protected]