How to recycle efficiently: A Complete Beginners’ Guide

• Aluminium drink cans
• Tinned food cans
• Jar lids from glass jars
• Foil trays
• Empty aluminium and steel aerosol cans with plastic buttons removed.
• Bottle tops and lids
• Foil (including easter egg wrappers)

According to Joe Flanagan of Tacuna Systems, things that can’t be recycled include foam (polystyrene), medical waste, and composites.

Small items

Small items, which most single-use plastic are, are hard to recycle. These include flexible packaging like chip bags and juice or soup pouches and cups with plastic or waxed coatings.

Black Plastic

Black plastic cannot be identified by automatic sorting machines and therefore is not currently recycled.

Medical waste

Waste from medical facilities cannot be sent to a recycling facility. These include medical equipment, medicines, and waste matter such as human and animal poop. Yes, that means that you can’t throw diapers or pet waste on the blue bin. They are hazardous due to contact with various germs and viruses. Dispose of them through your local hospitals or health offices.

Composites

These are complex items that contain multiple materials, such as things in plastic wrap, plastic wrap, bubble wrap, plastic sandwich bags, freezer bags and Pringles tubes. The same goes for polystyrene foam and plastic “to-go” containers and cups. Other unrecyclable materials are garden hose, rope, leashes, wire, and string.

3. What should one do before throwing recyclables in the blue bin?

Don’t be a “wish-cycler”!

Research. Go to your municipality’s website or call or email them to learn more about what exactly is recyclable curbside in your area. To find out what type of plastic a container is made of, look for the Resin Identification Code (RIC) at the bottom: a triangle made of arrows containing numbers 1 through 7. These are NOT “recycling numbers,” of which there are no such thing, and they do not equal recyclability. Many municipal recyclers accept #1 or #2 white or clear bottles or jars (with caps, pumps, and spouts removed), aluminum containers, and clear glass with no attachments or added plastic. Again, this varies by region, so please check with your municipality for what is accepted. Colored plastic and small and complex items are generally non-recyclable.

Clean containers.

For containers, try to get as much of the containers’ contents before putting them in the blue bin.

Sort out your trash well.

Using the recyclables and non-recyclables guide we outlined above, separate your waste carefully. While cumbersome and labor-intensive, it is essential in your journey to living sustainably that you separate different types of waste so they can be recycled efficiently. Send each type of recyclable to the recycling facilities that accept them.

Conclusion

To recycle efficiently, you need to learn what’s recyclable and non-recyclable. Separate them from each other strictly. The best way to recycle is to understand the recycling systems available to you. Then send your sorted recyclables to the proper facilities, including Terracycle. Aside from learning how to recycle, you also need to hold countries accountable for recycling their own products. This is what makes the holistic recycling process in Japan so successful. Companies there, especially appliance manufacturers, implement Post-Industrial Plastic Recycling.