The Spruce Eats recently interviewed Jeremy Walters, Sustainability Ambassador at Republic Services, about the problem of wishcycling (placing something in the recycle bin, hoping that it could be recycled, when it actually can’t).
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
“Many people will toss items in their recycling bin, hoping they can be recycled, whether they can or not,” Walters says. “Unfortunately, this type of mindset can be detrimental because many of these items end up contaminating perfectly good recyclables and can potentially damage the equipment in recycling facilities or worse, cause harm to employees,” says Walters. Here are the three most common wishcycling mistakes that people make.
- The It’s-Not-Even-Recyclable Mistake: Placing items in the wrong bin increases costs and can put workers in harm’s way.
- The plastic Bag Wishcycle Mistake: Plastic bags wrap and tangle around the sorting equipment causing jams and inefficiencies.
- The Dirty Container Wishcycle Mistake: There are three key words to remember when it comes to recycling—empty, clean, dry.
Read the full article at The Spruce Eats.