By:  Marikay Shellman, BPW Colorado Virtual Chair

NFBPWC Environment and Sustainable Development Committee (2022-2024)

Simple Acts: Recycling the Correct Way

Despite being taught to recycle everything, everything cannot be recycled. About 30% of what ends up in our recycling containers doesn’t belong there. Contaminated materials being tossed into recycling bins are causing recycling centers to dispose waste by the truckloads to landfills. Some simple recycling Do’s and Don’ts

1. Don’t be a “Wish-cycler”. While tossing items like shoes, bicycle tires, old garden hoses, Styrofoam coolers, & plastic toys into the recycling bin might be done with the best intentions, these bad recycling habits are counterproductive. “Wish-cycling”, tossing non-recyclable materials into recycling bins, adds financial expense & labor to every system in the world. Someone has to manually pull these things off the conveyor belt & send them to the landfill. What can be recycled varies from community to community depending  upon  how  far  away processors are located. When in doubt call your local recycling facility or throw it out.

2. Do recycle all clean, dry paper & paper board products. Shredded paper can be recycled in paper bags, but not loose. Don’t recycle any soiled or coated or sticky paper, examples being envelopes with a clear plastic windows or sticky notes. Cracker, cereal, cookie boxes are okay as are the non-greasy side of pizza boxes. Rinsed out milk & juice containers are dependent upon where you live. Used coffee cups are a no-no!

3. Empty, clean & dry should be your household motto. Food residue of any kind, just one empty jar of peanut butter can contaminate an entire truckload of recyclables. Aluminum soda cans & tin cans can be recycled if they are empty, clean & dry. (I put mine through the dishwasher.) Aluminum foil with food stuck to it, bottle caps, soda can tabs & razor blades should never be recycled. Once again, when in doubt, throw it out!

4. Don’t recycle anything smaller than a credit card. Small items like bottle caps or tiny pieces of paper can become stuck in recycling processing machines.

5. Try the “poke test” with plastics- if you can press your finger through the plastic, it doesn’t belong in the recycling bin. Sandwich bags, plastic wrap, plastic grocery bags, produce bags, newspaper bags, & most cereal bags do not belong in the recycle bin.

6. Whether it’s broken window glass or a broken beer bottle, never put broken glass into your recycling bin. It can clog machinery and/or be dangerous for employees handling recycling.

7. Don’t assume all plastic is single-stream recyclable. The number inside the triangle of chasing arrows, called Resin Identification Codes, were not designed for consumers, but rather for processors to bale recycling materials with consistency. Ignore the numbers & recycle single-use rigid cleaned plastic containers only: water, salad dressing & shampoo bottles.

While almost anything is technically recyclable, processors need to have enough of a homogenous material supply to make it worth their cost for labor, space & marketability. Recycling is based on supply and demand. Processors need to be able to purchase materials and break them down for reuse at a cost that will sufficiently pay for labor & transportation and still make a profit for them.