This article is sponsored by PECO, an Exelon Company.
As more and more people make recycling part of their daily routine, many are tossing non-recyclable items into bins and dumpsters making it all unusable.
Recycling contamination of paper and plastic products is a growing concern throughout the world as people and organizations increase their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.
Waste and recycling software company Rubicon provided facts about recycling that may educate your sustainability efforts.
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The average recycling contamination rate is 25%.
1 in 4 items that are placed into each recycling bin is non-recyclable, requiring the entire bag/container to be thrown in the trash.
75% of waste is recyclable, yet only 34% of it gets recycled.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 65% of all reusable materials end up in landfills.
Glass cookware can’t be recycled.
While glass can be reused in your kitchen for years — with some estimates approximating 1,000,000 years — items including Pyrex, ceramics and ovenware cannot be recycled.
Heavily soiled paper and boxes, wax-coated paper and shredded paper cannot be recycled.
This includes used paper towels, wrapping paper, and paper plates.
Compostable items can contaminate your recycling.
Pay attention to cutlery items that are designed to be compostable. Remove them from your list of recyclable products.
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The three-arrow triangle symbol does not always mean recycle.
Not all items with the three-arrow recyclable symbol will be accepted to your local recycling plant. Some organizatons are working on standardizing recycling labels across the board.
Used cigarette butts can be converted into energy.
They may be dirty and gross, but they can be used for good. Head to TerraCycle and the Butts to Watts program to learn more.
Proper recycling generates over half a million jobs and over $100 billion dollars.
When done correctly, proper recycling is a driving economic force in the U.S. every year.
28% of surveyed people were confused about recycling.
People in this 2017 survey by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries believed recycling was a highly technical and sophisticated issue. Many were unsure of what items could actually be recycled and disclosed they often unknowingly toss garbage into bins.
Recycle Across America has launched a massive recycling solution campaign.
The campaign is aimed at promoting nationwide standardization of recycling labels.
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