Think! Don't drink from bottles with Shrink!

       If you consider yourself to be a friend of our environment, the last thing that you are likely to do is throw your plastic drink bottle in the trash instead of the recycling bin.

        That bottle will most likely wind up in the garbage, no matter how you get rid of it if it sports a colorful “shrink wrap” label similar to the bottle shown in the accompanying picture.

       Bottlers across the nation are increasing their use of the colorful “shrink wrap” labels as a way to boost sales.

       For recyclers however, the labels pose big problems. The new type of label can be difficult to remove from the bottle and the glue with which they are attached contaminates the plastic that is being recycled.

      Simply put, the “shrink wrap” label, in most cases, renders the bottle un-recyclable.

       Some manufactures are using plastic labels that are perforated and can be peeled off by the user before recycling. Simply use a fingernail to remove the label. The label gets thrown out and the bottle, happily, recycled.

       Consumers who wish to recycle, hopefully all of us, should purchase bottles with paper labels. If you use a bottle with a “shrink wrap” label, please attempt to remove the label prior to it’s recycling.

Submitted by: Gerald Anthony, Paramus Environmental Commission, Chairman