Top 5 Tips To Recycle Better!

Recycling is good for the environment, but it can be confusing. Is it possible to recycle plastic straws? What about plastic bags? Which of the bins should I use? There are so many questions. If you have been throwing questionable items into your recycling bin hoping that they will be recycled, you may be wishcycling, and it will harm the recycling process.

Although recycling is good for the environment, it is not a silver-bullet solution. You can reuse these items instead of recycling them. However, even if we increase our reducing and reusing habits, we can't avoid recycling, so we should do it correctly. Here are some helpful recycling tips you can do:

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TIP #1: Check what can and cannot go in your recycling bin

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Recycling regulations differ from city to city, and there is no such thing as a universal recycling program. Instead, visit your municipality's website or call them to find out what you can put in your recycling bin. Please keep it simple by concentrating on the most commonly recycled materials: paper, glass, aluminium, and plastic. As for plastic products, you need to know what kind of plastic[1]  they are made of because no tall plastic products can be treated equally. And please, don't use the recycled symbol as a guide; it could be wrong!

Can be linked to '7 types of plastic' article

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TIP #2: Make sure it’s empty and dry!

Before you throw away your single-use plastic containers, please give them a quick clean to ensure no food is left in them.You do not need to wash the containers accepted by your municipality, but you should rinse and dry them out. This is critical if you only have one bin because food or liquids can ruin the paper. Paper and paperboard made up 67 percent of the waste recycled in 2015 (out of 67.8 million tons), so make sure your items do not contaminate the good batch of recyclables.

TIP #3: No bags, please

Do you know that plastic bags make waste management a nightmare? It can clog up the machinery, so make sure to dump your recyclables out of the plastic bag unless the facility can recycle them (like Georgetown University of Qatar).[1] [2] 

Even though these bags are technically recyclable, you must take them to a drop-off location rather than your curb side bin. Many grocery stores can recycle them, so try collecting your bags and bringing them to your local grocery.

TIP #4: Stop wishcycling

Wishcycling is one of the worst things you can do when it comes to recycling. That is when you are not sure the item can be recycled or not, then you place the non-recyclable items in recycling bins. You could contaminate entire loads of otherwise recyclable materials when you do this. If too much trash is mixed in with the recycling, the whole load may end up in a landfill. As a result, when you wish cycle, you cause problems on the entire system.

TIP #5: Reduce(and if you can’t, reuse and recycle)

Sometimes we forget that before we even think about recycling, we should reduce our waste and leave recycling as the last option.First, consider the amount of packaging a product comes in when purchasing it and whether you need it. Then, choose a product with recycled packaging or one with less plastic. From there, you'll be able to make more informed purchasing decisions in the future. After you've reduced, try reusing! Household items that you no longer need can be transformed into great craft projects with a bit of imagination. Finally, anything that cannot be reduced or reused can be recycled and repurposed.

These are some recycling tips to help you recycle more effectively and make the world a better place. If you change your behaviour by cleaning your containers more thoroughly, recycling only what is recyclable, and, most importantly, reducing your overall usage. Your minor changes can positively impact the environment because who do we expect to take our place if we don't?

Source:

Premo, Brian. “Recycle Smarter Not Harder: 5 RecyclingTips”. Center for EcoTechnology.January 28, 2020.

Ras, Bonnie Riva. “5 Steps to Recycle Effectively”. GOODNET. June 29, 2019

Sharma, Shubham & Sudhakara, P. & Misra, SK& Singh, J. (2021). Critical review on the Solid-wastes issue: Generation,Composition, Disposal and their recycling potential for various applications.Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 1804. 012147.10.1088/1742-6596/1804/1/012147.

Sivarajah, Sankar. “Five Ways To Reduce Your HouseholdWaste – And Stop It Being Shipped To Poorer Countries.” The Conversation. February 15, 2021

Thomson, Helen. “Recycling: You May Be Doing ItWrong”. Smithsonian Magazine. April22, 2014

“Recycling – It’s Not Your First Best Option”. Ecozoi. October 18, 2019

“You’re Doing It Wrong: 7 Tips to Recycle Better”. Earth Day. October 1, 2019

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