How to be More Mindful About Recycling
Recycling is a task that is taken on all over the globe, with the UK recycling over 12,000 tonnes of waste each year. However, no matter where you are in the world, there are many things you can do to be more mindful about recycling.
So, what can you do to be more mindful about recycling?
Reduce Small Materials
Small recycling materials can be a big problem as they are too small to be sorted and can jam the recycling equipment. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t recycle anything smaller than a credit card, including straws, bottle caps, coffee pods, plastic cutlery, and paper clips.
Clean Your Waste
One of the biggest problems when recycling is food waste contamination. If a material is contaminated, it is rendered useless and is fast-tracked to landfills. To prevent this, make sure you have washed and dried your recyclable products before throwing them away and that no waste residue is left on them.
Don’t Recycle Bags
Plastic bags are the number one contaminant in recycling loads, so they must be dropped off at the appropriate locations.
Shopping bags can dissolve into potentially harmful microplastics that can be damaging to the environment. They can also damage recycling processes by getting caught and tangled in the machinery. Some recycling points may not even try to recycle plastic bags, even when they are full of recyclable items.
Don’t Recycle Combined Materials
Even if they contain plastic, some combined materials shouldn’t be recycled. For example, plastic-coated coffee cups, laminated paper, and paper bubble wrap envelopes can’t be recycled as plastic can’t be separated from other materials. Instead, these should be thrown away in general rubbish bins.
Don’t Mix Non-recyclables with Recyclables
When items that can’t be recycled are put in the same bins as items that can be recycled, the recyclable materials are then contaminated and can no longer be recycled. This is because if too many non-recyclable items are mixed in with recyclable items, it will be harder to separate, and it could all be sent to the landfill.
Here at Rayda, we are mindful about recycling our plastic materials and about the materials we use. For more information about recycling plastic or any general plastic enquiries, please contact us today.
