Your Questions About Recycling
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Filed under Recycling Q & A
Robert asks…
Why do most recycling places only take plastics 1 and 2?
There are so many types of plastic… It’s such a waste to only be able to recycle 1 and 2. I know there are different things in each type, but I don’t see why they can’t just be melted together or something?… Is there a place we can take our other numbers of plastic [3-7 or something]?
The Expert answers:
When a city recycles plastic, what it does is separate out the plastics by type, then shreds the plastic and sells it as a raw material (or they sell the bundles to a larger recycler that shreds it and sells it.) For many plastics, it is more expensive to sort it and shred it than it is to just use virgin materials. For these plastics, there is no market for recycled materials.
In other words, the city could sort it and shred it, but they would need to get such a high price for it that no one would buy it.
So its just not cost effective to take and separate these types of plastics.
You can’t just melt all the plastics together. Each type of plastic has very specific qualities. In the same way that you can’t just melt all your metals together and then use them to make a new aluminum can or a new steel girder, you can’t just treat plastic as “plastic” – you need to treat each material as a separate commodity.
Good question.
Donna asks…
Does anyone know where in South Florida I can find a recycling center to turn in my cans/bottles?
I have looked for numbers and places and cannot find them. I know there is some but where?
The Expert answers:
Here is a link for Gorgo and Fort Myers
http://www.alliedrecycling.net/
Just Yahoo it and ask and you shall find your answer 🙂
Chris asks…
Do Drivers License numbers get recycled when people die?
The Expert answers:
No….that would cause too many problems.
Jenny asks…
Do you know of anyone who sorts recyclable plastics by their numbers?
My husband insists that we sort our recyclable plastics by their numbers. He is concerned that sanitation engieers will not be willing to recycle the plastics if we do not do this. I believe that most people just throw their plastics into one bag and leave the sorting to the employees at the recycling plant. Whom do you think is right?
The Expert answers:
Some will not take unsorted plastics! Ask the collection agency or the people where you drop them off. I’m frustrated that my local recycling centers only accept #2 with necks (grr. What difference does in make if it has a neck, they melt it down anyway!?) You can go to www.earth911.org for more information.
Ken asks…
Do cell phone companys recycle cell phone numbers and do yahoo IM or any other IM recycle screen names?
I’ve been having problems with this. Does this happen.
The Expert answers:
Cell phone companys definitly do. But instand messangers dont. You could just have a sn that someone else has with just a slight difference. Could even be by one letter.
Richard asks…
RECYCLE PAPERS: Are there any paper companies in the Philippines who buy used papers for recycling?
I need their addresses and phone numbers, please. Thanks!
The Expert answers:
My company is called Gmoney and we recycle paper.
Sharon asks…
Is Recycling good or bad for the environment?
what is recycling? Why is it important? Is there anything bad about it? What do those numbers on the bottom of bottles mean? The higher the number the better? I need info for an essay I’m doing.
🙂
The Expert answers:
Recycling refers to using waste products such as old newspapers, plastic, glass and aluminum bottles to make new products instead of just throwing them away. It is generally good for the environment because you keep trash from piling up and going to landfills. It also usually takes less energy to recycle than to make new products from scratch. One bad thing is that sometimes recycling in rural or spread out suburban areas with low populations can use more energy collecting trash than is saved by the recycling. Another bad thing is that sometimes customers mix the wrong types of trash together, which makes it hard for the trash company to sort it out for recycling. The numbers on the bottoms of plastic bottles are codes to tell what kind of plastic it is. Certain kinds are harder to recycle. Numbers 1 and 2 are the most common and the best to recycle.
Mary asks…
If you recycle the wrong bottle will it get thrown away?
For example, if you are only supposed to recycle numbers 1 and 2 but accidentally recycle a number 6 what will the company do with it? Throwing it away seems a bit contradictory to me.
The Expert answers:
I think they will throw it away or send it to the appropiate recycling plant. I am thinking that maybe their plant can only recycle a certain type of plastic and mixing them may set off unwanted reactions so that the end product is not what it is suppose to be. Hmm I hope that helps
Betty asks…
Can mobile phone recycling companies tell if a phone is stolen?
like through id numbers or whatever?
The Expert answers:
Cell phones that don’t use SIM cards such as Sprint may have ESN’s that are “bad” which can mean it was stolen, had unpaid bills, etc. So mobile phone recycling companies won’t bother taking it. However if the phone uses a SIM card like T-Mobile does, it shouldn’t matter if the phone was stolen because the next user, if any, will use a different SIM card that they can pop in and it should work just fine.
If you need to check to make sure your phone’s ESN is clear, meaning it wasn’t stolen, you can check out http://www.checkesn.com which is a super quick service that will see if the cell phone can be reactivated.
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