Your Questions About Recycling

The Expert answers:

Any office supply store. Minimum $2-5 for cardboard or metal screen tray.

The Expert answers:

Aluminum foil is recyclable, but it is a different grade than the aluminum in cans. Plastic shopping bags and saran wrap should NEVER be included in a recycling container that collects other items–the mixed cans and bottles go to a MRF (material recovery facility) where they are processed on a series of belts, and plastic films and bags can cause damage to the machines or injuries to workers. Return plastic bags to the grocery store (most stores accept them for reycling now) and ask if they can accept wrap there as well.

You should contact the waste disposal company and ask if they accept all plastics, or which numbers they recycle. When you look at a plastic item, it may have a little recycling symbol with a number inside of it. That is the resin code, and it refers to the type of plastic an item is (how much petroleum is in it), NOT to whether or not the item is recyclable. Many companies only accept plastic #1 (PET) or #2 (HDPE), so you wouldn’t want to include the old Brita filter, sandwich container (those are often #5) or the action figure (combination of plastics). The plastic peanut butter jar is most definitely recyclable in nearly any program. Including plastics for which the waste company has no market is not really recycling, it’s just making it more expensiv and less efficient for the other recyclables to be collected. Not all plastics are recyable in every area, and in fact, contaminated recycling streams increase the cost and can even ruin large loads of recyclables. If you’re ever in doubt about something, don’t include it without further research.

When containers are labeled for bottles and cans, the waste company knows that they will get a high yield of materials with great value, such as aluminum cans and plastics #1 and #2 (this is the type of plastic used in pop bottles, water bottles, etc.). So before I could give the green light on putting anything else in the bin, I would definitely recommend that you contact the company to see what exactly it accepts for recycling. Any recycler worth its stripes will even provide you with a poster/handout/web address with details upon request.

Hope this helps!

The Expert answers:

Shop around. What you consider decent is totally subjective. Look at discount outlets and commercial/industrial supply houses near where you live. The cost of shipping them will probably outweigh any savings you may find online.

The Expert answers:

Yes, it is illegal to remove recycling materials from recycling bins, but it is not generally enforced.

Police will only come if you report someone is going through your own recycling bin.

The danger of this is that if you aren’t shredding your documents they could get your personal information which might lead to identity theft.

The Expert answers:

If the containers you describe are clear and have a folded/hinged lid, these are referred to as clam shell containers and they typically are not recyclable. To find out what plastics are collected for recycling in your area, contact your local solid waste department. They can also answer your question about labels should you find out that clam shells containers are accepted in your area for recycling.

The Expert answers:

Yes contrary to popular belief you can. BUT you still have to talk the cap off because if you don’t the plastic bottle will explode and i can often cause wear on the equipment not to mention harming the people working the equipment

The Expert answers:

The problem with anything plastic is the way in which we dispose of it. The biggest villain of plastic is ultraviolet light. Try leaving a garbage bag full of leaves outside in the sun for a month and then try to pick it up. It turns into flakes. The same happens with Walmart & grocery bags. Simple sunlight destroys almost every plastic. Manufacturers of plastics even put chemicals and colorants into it to STOP UV degrading for outdoor use. So, what do we do with it? In our infinite wisdom, we burying it in the ground and then wonder why it lasts for 50 years! Like every other well-meaning cause, it all comes down to who’s gonna make money. If KBR could make a billion dollars disposing of our plastic waste, they would surely do it. Until our landfill are full, it doesn’t pay. Just wait a few years until after we have run out of landfill space. Then KBR will be waiting in line to take more government money like they have from our military.

The Expert answers:

Your statement actually made me think and your completely right! I’ve heard in recent months there will be ‘a new starbucks’ but i have to travel 3 1/2 miles to my nearest recycling centre, if i didn’t have my own transport, recycling would be made more difficult to do.

The Expert answers:

Try www.earth911.com put in your zip code and #1 plastic, if there is a recycle center that takes them it will list it.