Knowing what you can and can’t recycle can be tricky, and quite often isn’t very clear. Luckily I’m here to guide you in the right direction.
If you need to find out if any of your waste is recyclable, then you’ve come to the right place. I’m on a mission to show people recycling doesn’t have to be hard.
Check out my pages to find out, “is paper recyclable?”
Contents
What Are Recyclable Items?
Recyclables definition is a material that can be re-purposed into a new product. This means everyday waste items can be used again:
- Glass
- Cardboard
- Plastic
And that’s not the only benefit. It also reduces the amount of energy used. Turning raw materials into a product requires a lot of energy. When we recycle, it takes less energy to re-purpose the materials into the new product.
What Can Be Recycled?
Like I said, knowing what waste items are recyclable is a tricky job. And people don’t make it easy to understand the process.
So, what things can you recycle?
Let’s start with the most commonly recycled materials. These items can be recycled from your home recycling with no effort:
- Rigid plastic
- Paper
- Cardboard
- Metal
- Glass
But, are there any other items you can recycle?
There is, the problem is they can be a bit trickier and takes a little more effort than usual. So, what are they?
- Styrofoam
- Plastic straws
- Bubble wrap
- And much more
If you’re interested in finding out more, or you’d like to know how to recycle these products. Check out my posts. They give you an in-depth look into recycling.
What Plastics Are Recyclable?
It’s strange before I started my carbon-free journey. I always thought recycling plastic was super hard.
And granted the local recycling centers don’t make it easy at all.
But, if you’re a little savvy, you can recycle plastic with ease.
Let’s start with the plastic you can put in your recycling bins.
In your home recycling bins, you can put the following plastic products in:
- Hard plastic
- Water bottles
- Detergent containers
But, this isn’t the only plastic that can get recycled; the others are just a little harder.
To start with, plastic bags and bubble wrap can be recycled at drop off locations outside grocery stores. And items like Styrofoam can also be recycled. Although this is a specialist item, ask the staff before you take it to the recycling center.
Are Recycling Bags Recyclable?
Unfortunately not, you shouldn’t use them at all. Many councils can’t take residents recyclables if there in bags.
If you want to put your recycling into bags, then using a paper bag is a better option. The reason is that standard recycling centers can’t handle recycling bags.
It’s so much of a problem staff are begging for people to stop using them.
Some cities lose up to $1000 a day due to recycling bags. They clog up the machines and cause stoppages. So please stop bagging your recyclables.
Do Recyclables Get Recycled?
Years ago, people had to separate their recyclable waste. Which meant recycling centers had a more straightforward job. But today, people can stick it all in one bin.
Granted, there have been developments in technology, but it’s not perfect, which means things become easily contaminated. In turn, this means the “recycled waste” then gets sent to the landfill.
And to make things even worse:
China, who for decades has been taking our recyclable waste, has now stopped taking it. They no longer have the market for it. This is having a knock-on effect on recycling.
In short, there is no longer a market for recycling. Residents of the planet need to reduce before we recycle if we ever plan to make a difference.