The Golden Rules Of Recycling According To The Experts – E/The Environmental Magazine

When you take something that is no longer useful to you and turn it into an item that is useful, then it means you have been successful in recycling it. Most people throw away things as soon as they are of no use. If you have any eco-conscious values then you will want to recycle items and cut down on pollution, dumping, and conserve natural resources.

Many people confuse recycling with green living. Just because you are a tenant of green living, it doesnt mean you are recycling as well. Furthermore, you must learn how to recycle properly as when you dont follow the rules, you create problems for the recycling facilities. The materials get mixed up with the contaminated ones and eventually, all of them end up in the landfill.

Recycling is not hard but when people get confused they tend to mix up the rules. After all, it basically involves segregating and tossing your items in a certain colored bin. Even then people tend to go wrong and this is because you are not following the universal guidelines but rather the ones that are local. Below are the universal rules of recycling that you can follow.

What you may recycle in your town may not be the same in the next one. Therefore, to begin with, before adding items to your recycling bins, always check and understand the requirements of your local city. It is important to note that every city has its own recycling rules, needs, and requirements. For example, in some cities, it is fine to use egg cartons wherein in another it might be completely banned. The same goes for reusable plastic bags. While some may accept it, others might want to put it on a complete halt. You may be adding these unwanted items to your bin which might be just getting tossed in landfills. Therefore check with your local citys requirement of dos and donts before you contaminate the recycling cans.

You can work on your creative side by using this rule. There are many items that are not deemed recyclable. You can, however, find another way to use it. Try to repurpose it and find ideas online on DIY websites. Plastic utensils can be washed and reused for planting purposes or for your outdoor kitchen. This will be a great opportunity for you and your family to have a craft day at home so everyone can come up with ideas on how to reuse items that cannot be recycled but can be reused for other purposes. Broken glass items can be used for making mosaic. Old tires can be reused to make nice seating in your yard.

There are different types of plastic, paper, and glass. They are not made equally. Plastics are definitely the trickiest ones. To be on the safe side always try to avoid soft and flexible plastic like plastic carry bags, inflatables, and cling wrap. One misconception about paper is that all paper is recyclable. That is in fact not the case. For example, gift wrapping paper is heavily dyed and cannot be added to the recycling boxes. As for glass, anything that is made out of ceramics, or pyrex cannot be recycled. This also includes light bulbs. However, you should check the local requirements on the same as they may have a special program revolving around these items and you may actually be able to recycle them.

All your recycling efforts will go to vain and end up in the landfill, as the leftover juice in a carton is spilled over other items. Firstly you should know that it is vital to remove potential contaminants from recyclable items. These contaminants include any kind of food or liquids. Many people are confused as to how much cleaner their recyclables should be. Keep in mind that a very small quantity of food or liquid remains will not affect the other items. You can give it a gentle scrub and rinse it with water before setting it aside for recycling. If there is paper in your bin then these can be completely ruined with moisture that comes with food. You must therefore make sure there are no grease or food remnants when you want to recycle items like pizza boxes. If it does have grease stains, then you can tear off the part with the stain on it and recycle the rest.

Not all standard recycling programs have clear instructions on how to take care of e-waste or electronic waste. Regardless of that, it is important to make sure that these items do not get dumped in landfills. With the high consumptions of electronics and circuit boards nowadays, it has become vital to make sure that all these items go through the proper channels of disposal. These toxic metals leak into the environment and cause harm to the ecosystems when they are not disposed of properly. Many countries have even made it a law that any e-waste cannot be sent to the landfill and must be discarded properly. If these are found disposed of improperly, then their source is traced back to the brand and they face heavy fines for violating the rules.

While most people think that hazardous waste is only common in manufacturing industries, it is not just that. There are many common items like fluorescent light bulbs, batteries and so on that many businesses use on a regular basis which are considered hazardous. All this type of waste should be disposed of with care as it cannot be recycled with a standard program. Finding the right resource that can help you identify the hazardous waste you are using in your house or office should be the first step. These sources can also help you in finding out proper disposal methods.

Finally, remember that recycling is a group effort for a better tomorrow. So get everyone around you involved so the impact of your efforts can be stronger.

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The Golden Rules Of Recycling According To The Experts - E/The Environmental Magazine