How to Recycle

Guide Note: We all know recycling is important, but How to Recycle will teach you exactly what you can recycle and where in several easy steps. If you've been leery of recycling, this guide will help you understand how easy (and important) it really is!

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Forgot to recycle? (Photo by Julie Elliott)
Forgot to recycle? (Photo by Julie Elliott)
  • You've seen the familiar recycling symbol, those virtuous looking triangles staring you in the face and begging you not to toss them in the trash. But what exactly can be recycled, and where are you supposed to do it? Upwards of 30% of goods in the U.S. are recycled (unless you live in recycle-happy Seattle, which hits an average of 44% each year), but it's not always obvious where your nearest recycling center is or what exactly you can leave at the curb.
  • With a little "research" (we're talking a few keystrokes here and there), you'll locate your closest recycling center and understand that almost every item you own is a mere hop, skip, and/or jump from a new life. Read on to find solutions to all your recycling quandaries. You'll be proud of yourself for helping the environment, and surprised at how easy it is!

Step 1: What Can Be Recycled

  • You know about newspapers. You've been bagging up cans and cashing in nickels for years. But what about all the gray areas? Your old mattress? Your collection of Rocky films? (On VHS, no less.) Keep reading to learn how to recycle all your household items.

Paper Products

(Photo by Alicia Solario @ aliciasolario.com & photomanipulation by JayLopez @ sxc.hu)
(Photo by Alicia Solario @ aliciasolario.com & photomanipulation by JayLopez @ sxc.hu)
  1. You will need to contact your local recycling program to find out if you will need to sort paper or not. You can call 1-800-CLEANUP to learn about regulations in your area.
  2. 86% of Americans have curbside paper recycling pickup.
  3. If you will need to sort paper, it generally gets divided into these three groups (but check with your local program to learn their requirements!):
      • White paper (printer paper, copy paper, notebook paper)
      • Newspaper
      • Mixed paper (junk mail, magazines, wrapping paper, plastic windows on envelopes are okay, too)
  4. Basically all paper can be recycled unless it is contaminated with food waste. Tissues, wax paper, and carbon paper also cannot be recycled.
  5. You do not need to remove staples.
  6. Get your office involved! Place recycling bins near printers for discarded office paper. Make sure your building recycles properly by checking in with the National Recycling Coalition.

Cans, Bottles, and Tins

  • Glass and aluminum are generally easy to recycle, and many cities and states no longer require you to sort through different colored glass.
Recycle these cans! (Photo by Carlos Nunes)
Recycle these cans! (Photo by Carlos Nunes)
  1. Despite some recent controversy, recycling glass is worth doing to reduce waste and conserve landfill space.
  2. If you have curbside pickup for recyclables, simply put your glass bottles, aluminum cans, and tin cans into recycling bins to be picked up. Or, bring them to your nearest recycling center (see where to find the closest recycling program in the next step).
  3. Rinse glass bottles and jars and leave caps off before placing glass in recycling bins.
  4. Do not include glass from mirrors, windows, or lightbulbs, and leave out any broken glass.
  5. Have your kids sort through the cans and bring them to a local recycling center for a nickel apiece. Many grocery stores offer recycling services that are fun to use—drop cans one by one into a big machine, and coins spurt out like it's Las Vegas.

Plastics

  • Plastics can be tricky. You'll need to be sure your local recycling program will take back different types of plastics.
  1. Plastics are identified by their "resin identification code," which divides plastic into 7 groups. Types 1, 2, and 6 are the most commonly recycled.
  2. Determine a plastic's code by looking at the bottom of your item; usually there will be a number surrounded by the triangular recycling symbol.
  3. According to Wikipedia's breakdown of types:
    • Make sure your plastics are recyclable. (Photo by Leslie Richards)
      Make sure your plastics are recyclable. (Photo by Leslie Richards)
      • Type 1 plastics usually include soda, water, peanut butter jars, and salad dressing bottles
      • Type 2 plastics usually include water, milk and juice containers, yogurt containers, trash bags, and shampoo bottles
      • Type 3 plastics usually include juice bottles and plastic cling wrap
      • Type 4 plastics usually include frozen food bags, squeezable containers like those for honey or mustard, and some plastic cling wraps
      • Type 5 plastics usually include plastic food containers like Tupperware, margarine tubs, disposable cups and plates, and takeout containers
      • Type 6 plastics usually include egg cartons, plastics similar to those in Type 5, or packing peanuts and meat trays
      • Type 7 plastics usually include other beverage bottles and milk bottles for babies
  4. For more common types (like 1, 2, and 6), you should be able to use your curbside recycling pickup or nearest dropoff center (see our next step to find the nearest recycling center).
  5. Because not all plastics can be recycled, it is important to try to reduce use of plastics and reuse containers whenever possible.
  6. For products not accepted by your local recycling center (usually Types 3, 4, 5 and 7—or plastics with no identification at all), you can try sending the container back to its manufacturer to be recycled. Some companies will list this information on the product's packaging.

Movies and Music

  • How many times can you really listen to Thriller on cassette before the tape warps and goes to 80s music heaven?
  1. A company called GreenDisk specializes in "technotrash" and will properly dispose of all your old DVDs, CDs, cassettes, and even your old VCR or MP3 player for a minimal fee. They'll also help organizations or large groups with hard to recycle items on a consulting basis.
  2. You can also donate old iPods at your Apple store and receive a discount on a new one.

Computers

  • Only about 10-15% of computers are actually recycled. Try to up this statistic by being sure to recycle your old computer when you buy a new one.
  1. Most computer companies have recycling programs. Dell's program has been widely praised, as it will recycle any old computer if you buy a new machine from them. You can compare how well your computer manufacturer is recycling by checking out this report card.
  2. If you can't work directly with the manufacturer, see Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition's guide to electronics recycling to locate a "responsible recycler" (that is, one who won't just ship your old monitor to a developing country's miles-high landfill) or donation program.
  3. Find the closest responsible recycling program with this interactive map created by the Electronics Takeback Coalition.

Cell Phones and Other Electronics

  1. A nonprofit org called CollectiveGood collects and recycles old phones, pagers, and PDAs, refurbishing them when possible and sending them off to developing countries.
  2. You can also bring your old phone to a Staples store in the U.S., and they'll send it in for you.
  3. To better understand what to do with the batteries that power your various small electronics, see Earth 911's explanations on how to recycle various batteries.

Step 2: Where to Recycle

For Everyday Items

  • The greatest intentions won't get you far if you have no idea where to bring your items for recycling.
(Photo by Barun Patro)
(Photo by Barun Patro)
  1. Type in your zip code to find the nearest recycling center using Earth 911's find a recycling center resource.
  2. Or check out Our Earth's recycling directory for where to recycle a broad range of household waste, including electronics and more rare items.
  3. If you need (free) recycling bins, go to Resource Recycling to see what is available.
  4. Before heading out and about, see the EPA's Recycle on the Go website to learn about where you can recycle in public places.
  5. Get involved with improving accessibility to recycling centers and residential and business best practices at the National Recycling Coalition.

For Non-Everyday Items

  • What do you do with all those odd items you aren't sure where to recycle?
  1. Try posting items for free on Craig's List or Freecycle.org. You won't be leaving your items curbside in a blue bin, but someone else will likely be thrilled to pick up your items and give them a new life.
  2. Groups like Habitat for Humanity will pick up old cars as part of their "Cars for Homes" project. So will the Donate Cars for Charity organization.
  3. Donate old eyeglasses with Unite for Sight or through your local Lions Club's Recycle for Sight program. You can also drop off old lenses at Lenscrafters, to be donated to their Gift of Sight program.

Step 3: Beyond the Bin

  • Remember the old mantra Reduce, Reuse, Recycle? Don't forget the first two Rs!
  1. Reusing items before bringing them to the recycling center will extend their life even further, and save precious energy in the meantime.
  2. A few ways to get more life out of things before heading to the recycling center (and save yourself a few trips there, too):
    1. Use reusable bags at the grocery store. You won't pile up needless plastic bags this way and will be able to skip the plastic bag recycling altogether.
    2. Switch to compact flourescent lightbulbs (CFLs) to reduce the number of bulbs you go through. The average CFL can last up to 15,000 hours, compared to 750-1000 hours for an incandescent bulb.
    3. Buy a water bottle you can fill up again and again with drinks from home.
    4. Compost leftover food products or other compostable material to give new life to your garden! In Seattle, residents compost food scraps that are composted by the city and resold at area garden centers.
    5. Buy vintage clothes and jewelry and find antiques at local shops, on eBay, or nearby flea markets. Not only will you be getting off the produce-consume treadmill, but you'll own unique pieces that likely came with a good story.
    6. Recycle as a group. If you and a few friends put all your recyclables into one car and took one trip, think of the gas (read: nasty carbon emissions) you'd be saving!
    7. Try "pre-cycling" by buying products that are already in packaging that is easy to recycle, like glass or aluminum (or involves no packaging at all!).
    8. To find products that are recyclable (and to discern what claims are legitimate when it comes to recycled goods), see the EPA's site about buying recycled materials.

Conclusion

  • Some may consider that the effort they put into recycling won't make a difference. But if everyone follows the steps listed above, it can make a big difference!

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Resources for How to Recycle

Groups and Organizations to Help with Your Recyclables

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