Recycling is an important tool in cleaning up our planet, but common recycling mistakes make it less effective than it ought to be. Can you do better?
Recycling
Recycling right: how clean is clean enough?
Some people wash their recycling like their dishes. Too many others put not yet empty containers out to the curb. What’s the best way to clean recycling?
11 common recycling myths and what to do about them
Recycling can seem complicated. Part of the problem is we can think it accomplishes more or less than it really does. Let’s tackle some recycling myths.
The recycling process: how a materials recovery facility works
Once you haul your recyclables out to the curb, what happens to them? A lot of the recycling process depends on your municipality’s practices. Most rely on single-stream recycling.
Extended producer responsibility and the recycling crisis
The terms “extended producer responsibility”(EPR) and “product stewardship mean about the same thing. Recently, however, a distinction has arisen. Product stewardship mostly means voluntary programs. EPR mostly refers to programs mandated by.
Plastic bag recycling: what gets made from all those bags?
Every year, we recycle about half a million tons of plastic bags. If that sounds impressive, it’s only about 5% of all the plastic bags we use. Still, plastic bag recycling gives us some important new products.
Recycle, then buy recycled products
The graphic above represents a broken recycling system. Instead of completing a circuit, it stops. That’s what happens if people don’t buy recycled products. Here’s how recycling is supposed to work.
What can we do with dead batteries?
Have you stopped to think that the calls to recycle more don’t mention battery recycling? You can’t just put dead batteries out with the bottles, cans, and wastepaper.
The perils of plastic pollution
Plastic doesn’t readily degrade or decompose. That’s why plastic pollution presents such a serious problem.Nothing like plastic existed until the middle of the nineteenth century.
Aspirational recycling: what can’t be recycled
Americans recycle badly. We commit two equal and opposite mistakes: not recycling at all or putting the wrong things in our recycling. Trying to recycle what can’t be recycled has earned the name “aspirational recycling.” Are you guilty?
