To Recycle or Not Recycle

That is the question! Recycling is a daily must here in our Garbags community, we really take it to heart. All of our content, environmentally friendly lifestyle, and purpose gravitates around it, so the responsibility of delivering the right message and helping others get on the right path comes with the job. Of course, there’s always room for improvement and, despite having the best intentions, we don’t always nail it perfectly. This week, we are upping our recycling game by reviewing what we not only should, but can recycle (and vice versa)!

Let’s start with items that have been given the green light to go through this blessed process. Of course, there is an infinite variety of things that we can, indeed, recycle, but since we like to think and explore out of the box, here are some rather surprising items you may not be considering:

• Eyeglasses - For those of us that haven’t been favoured with the best vision in town, it comes to a point where we have to replace our glasses. I’m betting that at least more than half of us have stored them for a sentimental reason or dumped them in the trash. The fact is, some of the parts they are made of are recyclable, as the lenses are usually produced from plastic and the frames are from aluminium or steel. Check in with your local optician when you have the chance, they tend to have a recycling box for the donation of used spectacles.

• Aluminium Foil - In case you were expecting this one on the other side of the coin, it’s true! Although some recycling plants aren’t equipped to process it, most are, since we’re talking about a 100% aluminium based material. Just make sure you give it a brush, cleaning it from food waste, and it’s good to go!

• Batteries- If it has metal in them, it’s doable, so don’t worry because someone will be glad to take care of it! Every shop that dwells in this business, according to EU laws, has to provide a battery recycling point. Save and grab a pile of them and hand them over!

Some common items that are no-nos:

• Used tissues and paper towels - Even though the components are a perfect match with your blue bin, they can’t be recycled due to contamination! Worry not, you can always use them for compost if they’re not made with any harmful chemicals.

• Broken Glass - Happens to everyone! Unfortunately, these can’t be accepted by recycling plants, mainly because they can be harmful to the workers that handle the process. Speaking of glass, some types of it are made with chemicals and additives, therefore they can't be recycled either (mirrors, window glass and even drinking glass).

• Plastic and paper straws - We’ve all heard the eco-friendly changes adopted by the likes of McDonald’s, etc, by replacing plastic straws with paper ones. The thing is, the plastic ones get stuck in the machinery, and you can’t really recycle paper straws either because of food contamination. But, hey, at least the paper ones don’t take 200 years to decompose!

Taking into account the national diversity of our clients and friends, these kinds of tips will always depend on what service providers people have around them. Some communities have drop off locations for specific items, while others have a greater support for local food waste recycling.

Regardless of how many, you’ll always find programs destined to recycling, so it’s a matter of doing a quick search that will do wonders on a long term!

Environmental friendly information is something we’ll never run out of as we aim to keep our homes and communities clean, so make sure you stay tuned for what’s coming next!