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I’ve been placing items in the recycle bin all my life. In elementary school, after watching documentaries on recycling, teachers and students repeated the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle, and return” like a mantra. My classmates and I were on a mission to save the planet by picking up every stray candy wrapper we could find. Capturing trash blown by the wind and depositing it into the proper receptacle gave us a sense of pride.
Like everyone else, I thought recycle bins were magic; everything that went into them was magically turned into something new, and we could rest easy knowing all was well. Decades later, that fantasy burst wide open when I discovered what actually happens to items placed in the recycle bin.
Since my discovery, I’ve become convinced that repurposing items is more effective than recycling. Why? The short answer is that many things people think are recyclable aren’t. Placing them in the recycle bin doesn’t change that fact. Items misplaced in the recycle bin go straight to the landfill. Therefore, repurposing items keeps them out of the landfills.
Recycling is complicated
It seems so easy. Open a lid, deposit recyclables like paper and plastic, and you’ve done your duty to protect the planet. That’s the picture painted by the organizations promoting curbside recycling. Even the instructional pamphlets with recycling rules don’t represent the complexity of the recycling industry.
Not all plastic is recyclable.
We’ve been told not to place single-use plastic bags in the recycle bin because they can’t be recycled (even though they’re made of recyclable plastic). Yet, some grocery stores collect these bags to recycle. What’s going on?
Single-use plastic bags are usually made from recyclable plastic, but they cause problems during the recycling process. Recology spokesperson Robert Reed told the Smithsonian Mag about the problem:
They wrap around and jam recycling equipment. They contaminate paper bales. They cause problems at our compost facilities. They blow off of landfills and wind up in waterways and oceans and seas.
I always wondered how the ocean became filled with tons of plastic, and now it makes sense. Even though we were doing the right thing recycling plastic bags, the nature of the wind thwarted our efforts.
Not all recycling facilities can process the same materials.
Have you wondered why recycling companies ask you to remove the caps from glass and plastic jars and put them in the trash? The lids are usually made of the same material as the recyclable vessel, so it’s tempting to leave them on or toss them in the recycle bin anyway.
Most plastic bottle caps are made from #5 plastic, which melts at a different temperature than the bottle and needs to be processed separately. Workers also risk injury from caps that shoot off as projectiles during compression.
Recycling technology has improved in some areas where caps have become recyclable due to a new sorting process. However, many recycling centers still sift out smaller pieces of plastic during the sorting process. Caps fall through to the bottom and are sent to the landfill despite your best intentions. Not every county has the ability to recycle caps.
Become a repurposing warrior.
We’ve got enough organizations and people fiercely advocating for recycling. It’s time for a repurposing revolution. Here’s how you can become a repurposing warrior in everyday life:
- Collect scrap materials for others. Know anyone who knits or crochets? Save your single-use plastic bags for them. Many crafters turn plastic bags into plarn (plastic yarn) and create cool things like doormats, tablecloths, and ropes.
- If you live in an area where people use wood stoves for heat, save your egg cartons, dryer lint, and cardboard cores from paper towels and toilet paper. These items make perfect kindling.
- Repurpose scraps from your home renovation. If you’re into the shabby chic look, almost anything from a home renovation can be repurposed for your garden, yard, or home décor.
- Shutters, blinds, shades, and window frames can all be repurposed into a craft project. According to a repurposing guide published by Blindster, distressed shutters can be turned into wall art to add a rustic look to any room, and slats from old shutters make useful organizational tools for loose pieces of paper. Your garden will welcome old shutters as vertical planters, too.
- Regard your local recycling rules. You may have been able to recycle cardboard milk cartons in the last county you lived in, but that doesn’t mean they’re recyclable where you live now. In the past, cartons were cardboard lined with wax. Today, they’re made of cardboard sprayed with a thin layer of plastic or aluminum. They’re difficult to process because the materials need to be separated first.
Every item you repurpose or save for someone else to reuse makes a difference for our world.
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This post is made possible by site supporter Larry Alton.
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Photo credit: Ayotunde Oguntoyinbo