Common Mistakes People Often Make When Recycling At Home

Are you recycling items at home? This is a great way to save the environment, but there are some mistakes you could potentially be making. Though recycling may seem simple, it's not always so easy. 

Not Removing the Lids from Your Containers

There are two important reasons why you should remove lids from containers before recycling. For one, removing the lid makes the process of recycling much easier. But the lid of a container is usually made out of material that is different from the rest of the container. Occasionally the lid cannot be recycled at all -- at other times, the lid needs to be recycled in a separate way. 

Assuming All Glass Can Be Recycled

Not all glass items can be recycled. For instance, glass baking dishes usually can't be recycled, nor can item that are made with multiple types of glass. You should always look at the glass item for a recycling mark. The recycling mark should be somewhere on the bottom of the item. If you can't find a recycling mark, it's best not to recycle at all. Glass items can sometimes be donated instead. 

Throwing In Stained Items or Food Items

Pizza boxes and other food-stained items should never be thrown into a recycling bin. These items usually aren't suitable for recycling because they aren't clean. Unfortunately, these items should mostly just be thrown away. This also includes food-stained frozen food boxes and take out boxes. Food-stained plastic items, however, could be washed out and then thrown away. 

Trying to Recycle Plastic Bags

One of the major reasons why people are trying to move away from plastic bags is because they are so difficult to recycle. In fact, at many recycling plants there are often people there specifically to remove bags from the other trash. Otherwise they can jam up the machinery and the other trash. If you want to reuse your plastic bags you should instead reuse them within your home. Use them as dog waste bags or use them in trash cans -- either way, it's better than trying to recycle them. 

When you're in doubt, you can consult with your local recycling center. Different recycling centers such as B-P Trucking Inc have different recycling preferences and some of them may actually be able to recycle items that other recycling centers can't. It's best not to include items that you aren't certain about in your recycling, as they could potentially cause problems for the center's machinery.


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