PSA: How to recycle stuff you thought you had to send to landfill

[kenny]

Today I was about to send a big heavy plastic bag to the landfill because there was no recycling triangle, or a PLEASE RECYCLE notice on it.

But the bag did have this:


So, there you go.

TerraCycle

TerraCycle is an innovative recycling company that has become a global leader in recycling hard-to-recycle materials. They offer a range of free programs, as well as recycling solutions available for purchase for almost every form of waste. Eliminating the Idea of Waste

www.terracycle.com

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

just stop with minimiliasm and keep your nick knacks on the shelf !

 

[VRBeauty]

In my community, you just put your waste in a can and the garbage pickup company supposedly does all of the sorting. I’m sure it’s a combination of mechanical sorting and people monitoring stuff going by on conveyor belts - and I have to admit it hurts my rather liberal heart to think that there are people whose livelihood depends on sorting through my garbage, but there you have it. I imagine the whole thing is more efficient than the process in my hometown, where the residents seperate “recyclables” from other garbage (except organic waste, which has its own bin) and are expected to keep track of what is and is not considered “recyclable” at any given time. (Which has to do with markets for various waste streams, not inherent recyclability.) Plus of course some there’s always going to be some part of the population that just isn’t going to bother with separating recyclables.

BTW it took me quite a while to adjust to the “just toss it” mindset and I still haven’t fully integrated it. My church (in this community) has recycling cans, and it didn’t occur to me until now to ask why - . A new natural food coop recently opened in town, and the bus stations in the food court sport numerous signs telling people to just toss their waste and (essentially) stop looking for recycling bins - LOL!

 

[Lookinagain]

My town has a website entitled "what goes where" and you can search for your items to determine if they can be recycled by the vendor that they use. Everything with the little triangle isn't taken. So it depends. But they do tell you what to put in the recycle bin that they give you, and what to put in the trash bin that they give you. So it helps. Then certain plastics (like bubble wrap or grocery store plastic bags) can be taken to one of the large grocery chain stores and they have bins there. Plus, we aren't allowed to throw textiles away anymore, so they have to go to a place that accepts them. It can be a part time job!

 

[VRBeauty]

I grew up in a European country. I remember that clothes made of cotton (blends weren’t a thing back then) were bundled separately to be used in making paper, and potato peelings were bundled in old newspapers for collection too - I understand that was used for pig food.

 

[ShinyPink]

I hate tossing clothes/fabric items. I've used Trashie a few times. You pay for it, but then get it back as a credit at various online retailers. North Face used to have a clothing drop-off for any clothes, but now it's for their own brand. H&M will take any old clothes. At least towels/blankets can go to animal shelters.