Common Recycling Mistakes

People are recycling more materials than ever before. This is wonderful because recycling saves natural resources, reduces energy consumption, conserves water, prevents pollution and offers an everyday way to improve the environment. While the number of items that can be recycled has increased over the past few decades, not all the items that are recyclable, can be placed into traditional curbside and drop-off programs.

Items such as plastic bags can be easily recycled into plastic lumber and much more through retailers that offer collection boxes. Local participating stores include Berkots, Jewel, Target, and Walmart. When plastic bags are placed in curbside programs they get dirty, then wrap around sorting equipment and increase the cost of recycling. All this, and they still end up going to the landfill. Even when people know not to place plastic bags in carts, they use them to hold paper or containers. This still causes difficulties at the sorting facility. Please bag items in paper bags or simply load them loosely into recycling carts.

Clean pizza boxes are perfectly recyclable. The mistake is tossing in any food packaging materials that have food attached to them. No burger wrappers, no greasy pizza boxes, or fry containers. Foam plastic is not acceptable in any curbside program. The County partners with Dart Container each September to offer collection once a year for rinsed meat trays, packing blocks and egg cartons. Avoid these items when possible by choosing paper packaging and notifying the store management or manufacturer of your preference.

All plastic containers are not recyclable, but most are and this makes it confusing. Plastic arrows do not mean it can be recycled even if it seems that way. The most common problem are containers that look like #1 PET but are actually #6 PS. No one accepts #6 PS but they also don't want dirty plastic containers. Rinse food residue if the number is acceptable.

For some reason people are placing diapers in their recycling carts. It is not everyone but it is happening throughout Illinois and all over the country. Why anyone believes a dirty diaper can be recycled is beyond logic, but landfills are where these need to go without anyone touching them again.

For more information on recycling, visit www.willcountygreen.com