Environmental Protection by Recycling - Why isn't more info placed before the public, telling us.......

...EVERYthing made that can and can't be recycled?? Do you realize that even if say certain wrappers and covers are deposited in landfills in this country, how many millions of these a year would be needlessly added?

I used to frequent our local ginormous landfill, that now even accepts out of state waste!, and it used to be somewhat on the level. Now it has actually turned into a mountain!

It be in the tax payers interest to learn how to needlessly add to these mountains, so that we do not have to build any more future landfills than is necessary.

I have also wondered which products where we should perhaps leave ON the labeling so that the processor can perhaps turn it into much that may take up less landfill space than if we were to first strip labels off the container and add this dry label to landfill space.

I have also wondered that if people were to have garbage shredders at home, if this could condense garbage better than simply having heavy machinery at the landfill drive over it in a solid state.

I have a big gripe with the packaging some companies use for their products. It seems like the packaging materials cost more than the product, perhaps to make you think you're getting more than you really are. I realize that since most things we buy are made in China, extra padding/packaging is necessary for the boat ride across the pond, but I absolutely hate these smallish items packaged in huge clear plastic clamshell containers that are practically impossible to get into. I suppose it's for inventory control so keep people from putting small items in their pockets, but it looks like we could keep a lot out of our landfills if more common sense was used in packaging.

Someone invented a product to open those hard clear packages. :thumbup:

Today I discarded some empty paint cans. What would be wrong with rinsing them out and putting them in with the other metal (food)cans? Is there some difference in the metal?

See? It is questions like this where they should address what can and can't be recycled in greater detail, so that we do not needlessly fill landfills. If say something like paint cans is not allowed, then rinse them and save. And when we get enough metal, call the junk man to come and get it for scrap metal.

I hate wasting anything, and needlessly filling landfills. It makes the human race seem totally ignorant.

Yesterday I threw out 2 empty wide-mouth plastic #7 deli containers. They now allow you to recycle #1 -7, where it used to be just #1 and 2.

But what is the difference if it is wide-mouth or not? So would a pop bottle be if you cut the neck off the bottle! Do you realize how many deli containers there must be in landfills?

I also threw away aluminum foil that had fish stick bakings on them. Can't plant scrubbers? remove foodstuff from say soiled cardboard, foil, etc? At what degree can you recycle say either of these if they have say a tiny bit of food stuff on them?

Also, can you recycle the metal lid from applesauce jars and such? They aren't cans, but they are metal.

I do know that, in at least certain locales, you are not supposed to recycle frozen food paperboard as it is treated with something water resistant? that does not breakdown properly. That is an interesting tidbit.

Can you recycle already recycled paperboard products?

Should you remove the plasticy label wrapped around 2-litre soda bottles, or leave them on?

Are you better off leaving labels on certain recylables, as opposed to being nice and removing them?, since perhaps there might be a folly that perhaps less space is taken up when the recylcer likely turns labels into a slurry, as opposed to solid loose paper being dumped at landfills?


I could come up with quite the list of questions, in due time. And...well, maybe I should see if the internet provides answers to what can and can't be recycled at this time, and why. Our local handler has a limited list that they have given us. But it is lacking.

If you were to see land that turns into a garbage mountain, you too might want to learn more about recycling and reuse.

I think the whole "recycling" craze has gone way overboard. I do recycle those items that make sense to recycle. I rinse all of my plastic food bins such as cottage cheese cartons and toss them in the recycle bin. I toss every scrap of paper that doesn't have my name or some account number in the recycle bin. On the rare occasion that I have a glass jar I rinse it out and it goes in the recycle bin.

I do not remove paper labels that are securely glued to containers but I will remove labels that have only a small glue strip. I do this on both glass and plastic. The plastic labels go in the garbage for the landfill and the paper labels go in the recycle.

In case you haven't guessed, where I live all recyclable items go into a single bin. :)

What I don't do is put food scraps and pizza boxes im the yard waste bin, these go in the garbage. I do put my shredded paper in the yard waste.

At least I don't live in Seattle (left more than thirty years ago) where they have garbage police that will take any recyclable material of any kind out of your garbage and then fine you. That's going WAAAAY overboard in my opinion.

I usually use a reusable bag when I go grocery shopping. If I only buy one or two items I refuse any bag offered.

"They" won't admit it but aluminum foil is not recyclable, not at all because it simply burns up to slag when they try to remelt it. "They" will tell you that no foodstuff or anything contaminated by food (like your foil) can be placed in the recycle stream except for "clean" food scraps and items like paper towels, paper napkins and pizza boxes which can only be placed in with yard waste.

"They" don't want any jar lids because the rubber or plastic seal will contaminate the recycling process. This includes any and all bottle caps.

Yes, you can recycle recycled paper products. Paper is wonderful because it can be recycled indefinitely. It may not be cost effective but at least it isn't blowing around in the wind. Truth is, most recycling is not cost effective, aluminum cans and glass jars being a notable exception.

I strongly suspect that a pretty high percentage of what Americans "think" they recycle is really sent overseas with only minimal stateside processing and once overseas it is either used as landfill or burnt in incinerators having few, if any, pollution controls.

Just my opinion. ;)