Paper cups, bottles (of all colors and numbers), containers and trays for food, transparent or colored plastic milk jugs, tubs for dairy products, plastic cups, plastic flower pots, plastic buckets, rigid plastic household items, such as furniture and laundry baskets. Newspapers, office paper, magazines, and cardboard without corrugation (think cereal boxes) are all recyclable mixed paper materials. You can even recycle wrapping paper if it doesn't have a layer of plastic film on top. Recycling paper can be one of the easiest and most common forms of recycling.
As always, what can be recycled and what cannot be recycled where you live or work will depend on the regulations established by your city or municipality, as well as whether or not they participate in any external program, such as a food waste collection and processing program. Some service providers allow you to put all your recycling material (except glass and plastic bags) in a single container. One morning, after my sister reminded me to recycle a box of frozen waffles, I decided it was time to do some research. Once again, be sure to contact your city or local recycling center to find out what can be recycled in your area.
Wondering what can be recycled in your area is one of the smartest things you can do to ensure that you're diverting as much of your company's waste as possible to landfills and, at the same time, avoid contamination from recycling through proper separation. Contact your local municipality for more information about recycling electronic products where you live, or visit the Waste Management informational website for more information. When it comes to purchasing recycled materials through a sustainable supply chain, this last point is especially important, since, while acquiring recycled materials to convert them into new products is clearly a sustainable business practice, sending this material to the other side of the world to reach you begins to void these sustainability awards. If there is currently no technology to recycle a particular material, or if it would be cost prohibitive to try to disassemble a large or complex item to separate the different recyclable materials, consider recycling.
Most communities will have specific delivery points for plastic bags, while others can support the local recycling of food waste, which can be converted into sustainable land for gardening. Each city and state manages their recycling centers differently, so it's important to check your local hometown website for more information on recycling in your area. What can and cannot be recycled in your city will vary depending on several factors; so take this list with a grain of salt and contact your city to confirm what materials can and cannot be recycled, how to classify recycling and whether or not your city imposes fines on companies and commercial establishments for inappropriate recycling practices. Rinse plastic, metal and glass recycling materials before placing them in the recycling bin.
When non-recyclable materials are recycled, they must be sorted by hand, or the entire recycling batch is now contaminated and ends up in the landfill.
