We have had an ongoing debate in our household – What preparation needs to be done to put items into our curbside recycling totes – and what is or isn’t recyclable? Some believe that the sorting, separating, cleaning and general fussiness of our recycling system is onerous and not worth the effort. Others believe that effort today will impact the future for our family. I won’t divulge who is on each side of the debate.
At our office, we don’t have this debate since we have a “Chuck it in the Bucket” policy where any packaging that holds food can be processed by us here at Davidson Environmental, but that is another story (for the moment). For today I want to talk about Wish-cycling which is defined as the act of recycling items you are not sure are recyclable. Wish-cycling may occur out of good intentions believing that blister packets, chip bags, greasy pizza boxes or coffee cups are recyclable. It can also occur because the consumer hopes that items like ceramics, wrapping paper, waxed paper or lightbulbs are recyclable.
In Niagara we are fortunate to have a wide range of items that are managed through our waste redirection system including Styrofoam, plastic bags (when collected into one bag and placed in the grey box), take out cup holders (which are compostable). I understand that most municipalities do not have such a broad range of items that can be recycled. The challenge is of course, to know what your municipality allows if it has a system in place at all.
Some signs that you wish-cycle:
- You don’t know whether something is recyclable, but you hope it is. When in doubt, you should throw it out. Stick with the basics…
- You confuse “recycle” with “reuse.” Your old clothing, tools and appliances can have new life, but not if you put them in your recycling container.
- You toss items in the recycle bin with liquid and food still in them. Items must be empty, clean and dry to be recycled. When they’re not, they contaminate the perfectly good recyclables around them, sending some to the landfill.
- You bag your recyclables. It sounds nice but the truth is that bagged recyclables can’t be unbundled and sorted at the recycling facility.
- You assume anything with a recycling symbol is recyclable. The chasing arrows symbol often only identifies the type of plastic resin used, not that the item is universally recyclable. Always check local guidelines.
The remedies
- When in doubt leave it out.
- Look for a specialist recycler – everything from batteries to cell phones can be recycled.
- Look up or get in touch with your local waste provider to understand their restrictions.
- If you represent a Commercial or Industrial site in South and South Western Ontario use Davidson Environmental to process your organic waste and its packaging. That will help you take the guess work out of whether you can “Chuck it in the Bucket” or not. Our guide of what goes in can be found here.
No matter where you are on the scale of recycling awareness, there is always room to learn more for the sake of the earth and for future generations. It is our children’s planet we are impacting today – let’s make it a positive impact.
#PositiveImpact #WishCycling #RecyclingAwareness #NoLandfills