Originally published on the How2Recycle blog. This means that if you have a foam takeaway container full of leftover Thai food, don't put the food in the recycling bin. Compost or dispose of food waste and see if your community accepts clean foam for recycling (less than 20% of communities in the U.S. In the United States they can recycle foam).
Always look for the How2Recycle label to know exactly what to do with the packaging. The How2Recycle program delivers more than 70 new How2Recycle labels to our members every day, and it's currently found on tens of thousands of products. So keep an eye out for more labels to appear on your favorite products so you know exactly how to help recycle. Throw away or recycle? It's not always clear.
Some materials (such as peanuts for packaging) can't be recycled, but they can be reused. Other items (such as mattresses and some electronic devices) cannot normally be recycled, but special services can donate or pick them up. We've compiled a list of the most common household items that recyclers won't pick up on sidewalks. Packaging peanuts are made of expanded polystyrene and therefore cannot be recycled.
If you receive a package of peanuts to pack in a delivery, instead of sending them to a landfill, consider reusing them at home; many commercial shipping services also accept clean peanuts from consumers to pack clean peanuts. Scrap: The only metal objects that should be in the recycling bin are aluminum or metal cans and their lids. Below is a list of local metal recyclers who accept scrap metal. Because of the chemicals used in the manufacture of PVC, these items cannot be broken down or recycled.
You should always check with your municipality or the recycling coordinator first before placing these items in the sidewalk bin. It's important to take special care when disposing of these dangerous items and doing so properly in your community. When these items are placed in the sidewalk bin, they are wrapped in the equipment of the recycling plant and workers have to stop the machines to get on them and cut the bags. If you have a television, computer, telephone, keyboard, smoke detector, hair dryer, vacuum, or anything electronic, never place that item on the recycling sidewalk.
Because recycling this material costs a lot of money, most municipalities won't accept your plastic items for serving. Sometimes, those items can put workers in recycling facilities at risk or danger; sometimes, those items cause the recycler to lose money if he tries to sort or process them (for a variety of reasons), so the recycler has to pay to throw the material into landfills anyway; and sometimes those items actually slow down the operations of the recycling plant, so the plant can process fewer materials in total each day, which harms the health of the recycling company.
