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Are you a smart recycler?
By Sean Bossie of Wild Leaf News
Most people would agree that recycling is very simple. After all, it isn't "rocket science" to sort glass, paper and plastic. However, precisely because it IS such a simple exercise it is often done wrong!
The following are six questions (and their answers!) to test your recycling knowledge and help make your future recycling efforts easier and faster.
1. Do I really have to take the labels off all my jars and containers? No, this is not necessary at all. The recycling process uses high heat which will burn off all those stubborn labels. 2. Do I need to remove the covers and lids of my containers that I am recycling? Yes, it is actually a safety hazard to leave them on as the bottles and containers can explode during the recycling process. 3. I am spending a lot of time cleaning out some plastic recyclables like my peanut butter jars. Do I have to do this? No, a good rinse is fine, if there is still some food still in the container it is perfectly fine. Large amounts of food should be removed but a quick cleaning and rinse will suffice. 4. Can plastic bags be included with my other plastic recyclables? No. This is a common mistake and one that is very costly when the plastic bags have to be removed manually from the other plastic containers at the recycling centers. To find a local recycling center for your plastic bags visit www.plasticbagrecycling.com, otherwise save them and re-use them rather than recycle them. 5. Are all plastics recyclable? "Cracking the plastic recycling code" is one of the more complicated tasks associated with recycling. The numbers inside the recycling symbol (the revolving arrows) on the bottom of the plastic containers unfortunately are not a good guide. They cryptically indicate the plastic resin content of the plastic. Your recycling center may say it accepts any plastics with a certain number printed on the bottom, but actually may recycle only plastic bottles (not other containers, such as yogurt tubs). Bottles typically can't be recycled together with wide-mouth containers. Many communities go ahead and accept all HDPE (#2) plastics to avoid consumer confusion, then must landfill or incinerate all but the bottles. Check with your recycling center to know exactly what they accept and save yourself from separating and cleaning plastic containers that just end up in the landfill anyway! 6. Should I crush plastic bottles and aluminum cans? No. In most recycling centers, flattened items can impede the recycling process by not allowing the blowers they use to separate the light material off the top of the heavy material. By leaving your plastic and aluminum products whole and not crushed, they remain buoyant enough so they float to the top and can be easily removed. For further GREEN tips, tools and free products, visit www.WildLeafNews.com
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Contributor's Note
The author learned these recycling tips after spending hours doing it wrong--despite my good intentions. Hopefully this information will save you some time and be informative as well. :)
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Plastic Bag Recycling Info and Locations
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
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