5 Tips to Recycle Right

1. 5 Tips to Recycle Right We all know recycling makes economic and environmental sense, but not many of us know how to recycle right. From learning to sort items to completely avoiding using certain materials, Americans, in general, need a recycling re-education. For example, while plastic bags can be recycled, they should be taken back to the supermarket and not dumped in garbage bin. Similarly, your empty pizza box cannot be recycled despite the recycling symbol on it. This is because of the grease on the box that makes it unrecyclable. If you are enthusiastic about recycling, here are five things you should remember: Recycling Styrofoam can be a challenge – avoid using it if you can: Polystyrene, aka Styrofoam, is commonly used to make cups, take out boxes, meat trays, and other packaging supplies. While it does fall under the Number 6 classification, which means they are hard to recycle, it does not mean that they cannot be recycled at all. Thanks to modern recycling technology one can recycle Styrofoam, but your local recycling center will still refuse to accept these items. This is because Styrofoam is difficult to break down and prone to contamination. This makes recycling Styrofoam difficult. Some communities manage an exclusive Styrofoam drop off center so proper recycling can take place. However, it is best to avoid them – polystyrene leaks styrene, a chemical linked to cancer and damage to the nervous system. Besides, it takes around 500 years to fully break down. While juice boxes are made of paper, they cannot be recycled: This is because juice boxes have a very thin layer of low-density polyethylene or LPDE as it is properly called. It is difficult to separate this plastic lining from paper and hence rejected by most recycling facilities. There are a few hydro-pulping machines that can do this, but they are not common. You can now buy t-shirts made from recycled plastics: Did you know that more than 91% of plastic in the world is not recycled? Almost 79% of this is lying in landfills as litter. Rather than doing nothing about it, a team of enthusiastic eco-warriors at 30A have come up with an incredible idea. They are now offering their range of Dumpster Diver shirts – a unique range of t-shirts made from recycled plastic. These are the perfect summer clothes for women and men. In fact, a single t-shirt can help recycle up to eight 16 oz bottles that are collected from landmines. They are mixed with very fine cotton and are very comfortable to wear – perfect men’s beachwear.

2. Understand what can and what cannot be recycled: Despite the regular flyers, newspaper ads, and social media promotions, there’s much misinformation about what can and cannot be recycled. Some of the common mistakes include putting plastic bags, donut boxes, Styrofoam, paper cups, and other products in recycle bins, not rinsing the metal containers before recycling, and putting yard waste in the recycling bin. As a general rule of thumb, if you are not sure if something is recyclable or not, throw it in the garbage. Author Bio: The Author writes about environmental health and ways to reduce plastic waste. He also manages https://www.30agear.com/, a website that offers a wide range of summer clothes for womenand men.