Waste-Watchers
Since mass production of plastic began just 6 decades ago, the world has created over 8.3 billion metric tonnes, with just 91% being recycled to this day. Now I’m sure if you’ve found your way to my blog, you’re probably an avid recycler already. But I bet you never imagined that what you’re recycling, isn’t actually being recycled. And sadly that is down to YOU!
Here are a few tips and tricks to make sure that what you’re recycling doesn’t end up in a landfill;
1) Give your recyclables a deep clean
Unfortunately, we can’t recycle materials by just chucking them into a mysterious green bin. We need to clean it first. I’m not talking a little rinse, I mean giving everything a good old scrub! You don’t want any food, oil or liquid contaminating the material.
According to Joe Allen, (CCO of top recycling firm, The First Mile), “it’s difficult to say exactly how clean materials need to be before they’re recycled.”
But the general consensus is… it’s better to be safe than sorry.
If recycling is sparkling clean, more often than not, it can be processed back into exactly the same material it was before; achieving the revered ‘closed loop’ recycling model. Whereas contaminated recycling will go on to produce lower quality materials.
While some recycling facilities wash the waste before sending it on to specialist recycling plants, others will process recycling immediately. So to ensure that you’re not ruining an entire batch with some extremely sticky vegan cheese… it’s best to give it a scrub.
2) If in doubt, leave it out
Similarly to contaminated waste, putting the wrong waste into recycling can ruin an entire batch. Even something as small as a carrier bag can cause damage to the machinery by wrapping itself around it. Sadly the machinery isn’t always able to tell the difference between a recyclable and a non-recyclable, so once it detects one plastic bag… the whole batch goes to landfill.
3) Don’t be fooled by the green triangle
We’ve all desperately examined our waste for the green triangle in the hope that our waste is recyclable. But I’m sorry to tell you that “the green dot” doesn’t actually mean that at all. Simply put the misleading little symbol means that the company has financially contributed towards recycling in Europe. So what can you do? Well next time, when you’re unsure if something is recyclable or not… give it a google.. or even better, an Ecosia!