No, not all plastics are recyclable

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that Americans almost create 300 million tonnes of waste per year.

Even though a lot is recycled, experts say many of us do it wrong, especially when it comes to plastic.

Our sources of verification are: the EPA, a study 2020 by Greenpeace, and Alison faller, a specialist in raising awareness of MW., the largest waste management company in the United States.

The EPA says the amount of plastic Americans recycle each year is equivalent to elimination of 890,000 cars of the road in a single year. Sounds like a lot, but compared to paper and cardboard, it’s a drop in the bucket.

Paper products make up 66% of all materials recycled in the USA. Why isn’t there more recycled plastic? It’s complicated, but like As a general rule, plastic bags and film cannot be recycled at the curb, because they do not break down easily.

“Clear plastic, like jugs, jars, bottles, jars, they’re recyclable,” Faller said. “While these bags can get tangled in the sorting wheels of the recycling facility and cause hazards [for the workers]. “

Bags (and holiday fairy lights) also erase the entire system, slowing the process for all items as they are neatly separated from machines, like separating gum from a child’s hair.

Another myth: that these three arrows of Mobius forming a triangle means the item is recyclable. The number inside is actually a “resin identification code”- indicating what * type * of plastic it is. In fgeneral – only # 1 and # 2 go in the blue bin.

So even though shower curtains and swings are mostly plastic, that doesn’t mean (in most cities) that you can recycle them curbside.

From holiday wrapping paper to those bags of crunchy chips to light bulbs to batteries, many items that may seem easy to recycle are not.

We can verify, when it comes to plastic, that not everything can be recycled.