3 Steps for Being Better at Recycling

With increasing outcry on the need to conserve the environment, most people are looking for ways in which they may play their part. One of the most common ways in which we can conserve the environment is with regards to recycling as a solution to garbage removal. Indeed, most people are working in conjunction with their municipal governments to recycle their waste.

Notably, most people form the impression that waste recycling is all about buying a recycling can and depositing the waste material that they would like to recycle. However, recycling is a little bit more complicated than that. After you have obtained your recycling can, there are various steps that you need to take to ensure your efforts to protect the environment are productive. Read on to find out some of these steps.

Familiarize yourself with the local regulations on sorting

Different municipalities will have different rules and regulations regarding how to collect the recyclable materials. Some will prefer the single-stream method whereby all the recyclables are collected into one can, and they will sort them out themselves, or the municipal regulations may require that you sort them out first before they are collected. You need to know your municipality regulations so that you may obtain the relevant number of cans. The typical number is four; for paper, plastic, metal, and glass when you have to sort them out.

Know the different types of materials that you can recycle

The common materials that are recycled are plastic, paper, glass and metal. However, in those categories, there some materials that cannot be recycled. For instance, when paper is generally, recyclable, tissue paper cannot be recycled. Moreover, while cardboard is recyclable, cardboards soiled with food substances, like juice packs cannot be recycled.  Similarly, some types of plastic such as toothpaste tubes and bubble wrap cannot be recycled.

Each municipality will have the generally accepted materials that can be recycled; meaning that recyclables will vary from municipality to municipality. You can know the generally accepted recyclable materials in your municipality from your municipal website. This will enable you to keep only the recyclable materials in their relevant cans, therefore making recycling easier.

Know what makes recyclables unrecyclable

Sometimes, even if something is generally recyclable, it may become unrecyclable. For instance, when you soil paper or cardboards with food substances or cover them in wax, they cannot be recycled mostly because they make it difficult to recover the paper fibres. Therefore, knowing what makes the materials unrecyclable will enable you to know what you can do to prevent rendering them unrecyclable. If you find that you have a lot of items that can't be recycled, call in a rubbish removal company to dispose of it correctly.


Share