Things You Are Recycling Wrong (And What to Do Instead)
Most people recycle with good intentions. They rinse out their containers, separate their paper, and feel reasonably confident they are doing the right thing. The problem is that a surprising amount of what ends up in the recycling bin every week either cannot be processed, contaminates other materials, or simply gets sent straight to landfill anyway. Here is a straightforward look at the most common recycling mistakes and how to fix them.
Greasy Pizza Boxes
This is one of the most widespread recycling myths going around. Pizza boxes are made from cardboard, so they should go in the recycling bin, right? Not exactly. The issue is the grease and food residue soaked into the bottom of the box. Oil contaminates the paper recycling stream and can render an entire batch unprocessable. The top half of the box, if clean, can go in the recycling. The greasy bottom half should go in the general waste or, better yet, your compost bin if you have one.
Plastic Bags and Soft Plastics
Soft plastics are one of the biggest sources of recycling contamination in Australian households. Plastic bags, bread bags, chip packets, cling wrap, and similar flexible plastics cannot be processed through standard kerbside recycling. They jam the sorting machinery at recycling facilities and cause significant operational problems. The good news is that most major supermarkets have soft plastic drop-off points where these materials can be taken for proper processing. Keep a bag in your kitchen to collect soft plastics through the week and drop them off on your next shop.
Recycling Items That Are Too Small
Small items like bottle caps, broken glass, staples, and shredded paper often fall through the gaps in sorting machinery at recycling facilities, meaning they end up in landfill regardless of where you put them at home. Bottle caps should be screwed back onto their bottles before recycling so they stay contained. Shredded paper is better composted than recycled, as the short fibres are difficult to process and the loose pieces create mess throughout the facility.
Wishful Recycling
This is what happens when something looks like it should be recyclable, so it goes in the bin on the off chance. Takeaway coffee cups are a classic example. Most disposable coffee cups have a thin plastic lining that makes them extremely difficult to recycle through standard facilities. The same applies to juice cartons with metallic lining, padded envelopes with bubble wrap, and most black plastic food trays, which many sorting machines cannot detect at all. When in doubt, look it up before it goes in the bin. Your local council website will have a detailed list of what is and is not accepted in your area.
Not Rinsing Containers Properly
Food residue left in containers is one of the leading causes of recycling contamination. A yoghurt tub with a thick layer of yoghurt still in it, a tin can with remnants of baked beans, or a glass jar with oil still coating the inside can all contaminate the materials around them. You do not need to scrub everything spotless, but a quick rinse under the tap before it goes in the bin makes a significant difference to what can actually be recovered and reused.
