Recycling Tips
The recyclers call their recycling buildings ‘materials recovery facilities.’ In 2017, China banned 24 materials from entering their country to be recycled as they focused on quality. Mixed plastic, #3-7 and mixed paper were among the materials banned.
In the US, there is a huge gap between what people think can be recycled known as “wish recycling” that can cause processing problems and what can really be recycled. Currently, Colorado is diverting 17% of our waste by recycling, Denver is diverting 23% of our waste, with the national average being 35%. The front range creates 85% of Colorado’s trash. We need to improve the process to obtain zero waste. Ideally, we would make recycling and composting free and charge for trash going to the landfill.
When recycling they prefer clean items. The following are items that can be recycled:
Bottles made of glass like beverage bottles. No dishware accepted in this category.
Cans either aluminum or steel. Do not crush. Foil should be balled up. No scrap metal.
Paper. Do not shred as that will result in recycling machinery problems.
Cardboard flattened out.
Plastics made into “bottles, tubs, jugs and jars.” Rinse out any debris, empty completely and put the plastic cap back on the bottle. No need to remove labels.
Glass, aluminum and steel can be infinitely recycled, paper and cardboard can be recycled 5-7 times until the fibers become too small and plastics can be recycled 1 or 2 times. Polyester and acrylics are made of plastic. Wastewater treatment plants do not remove microfibers so they end up in our waterways.
Plastic bags can get stuck in the machinery so they cannot be recycled. Other items that are NOT recyclable include lithium batteries and anything that will tangle like hoses, Christmas lights or headphones, also toys. Additional hypodermic needles cause a safety hazard for recycle center workers.
Styrofoam (polystyrene) will never break down. Some facilities take it and use it to cushion items for shipping. Basically they need to quit making polystyrene.
Electronics need to be recycled by electronic recyclers. Spring Back Colorado will take old mattresses.
We hope that one day we will have the producers of plastics, polystyrene and other hazardous materials held accountable for their production of these products.
All items put in the recycling should be larger than your fist and placed loosely into the bin. The goal of recycling is to collect it, sort it and sell it. The sorting belts move at 35 tons per hour so employee safety is a huge concern. End use, the ability to sell the recycled product is very important to the process.
It is recommended that anyone who is recycling call their hauler to determine what they will and will not take at their facilities.