For many of us, it is part of a weekly routine. We empty the box, container, carton, or can, rinse it out, drop it in the recycling bin, and take the bin out to the road to be picked up by the truck. What happens to the recycling after it gets to the truck is the stuff of mystery. Some say it goes to the landfill, some say it gets sold to the highest bidder, but what is the truth?
While it is true that recycling won’t solve all of our environmental problems, it does help. Recycling can even be a source of revenue for many communities – once the material is sorted and baled, it is sold to manufacturers to create new products. This money goes into offsetting the costs of the recycling program and provides jobs in the community.
Here are some of the most common myths about recycling and how we can do our part to make the system work even better.
Myth #1 – Recycling Uses More Energy Than It Saves
This is an old myth and one that keeps coming back year after year. The truth is that depending on the material, recycling uses 50% less energy than making the same materials from new sources — and sometimes it saves a lot more than that.
For instance, recycling an aluminum can takes 95% less energy than making that same can from new aluminum. Steel and tin will save 60 to 74%, and recycling paper saves 60% of the energy used in production. Recycling glass will save 1/3rd of the energy needed to produce that same bottle from scratch.
Myth #2 – You Can Toss Old Electronics Into the Bin
Your smartphone, computer and other electronic equipment are made of plastic, metal and glass, so they should be put in the recycle bin, right? Wrong! You should never put your electronics into the recycle bin. This is because most of these products have a lithium-ion battery inside, which could explode or catch on fire if improperly recycled.
Instead of the recycling bin, take your electronics to your second-hand store where they can be repaired and reused, or if they are unrepairable, take them to your local household waste recycling depot, or a place that handles e-waste. They need to be taken apart properly and the materials disposed of.
Myth #3 – Materials Can Only Be Recycled Once
Many materials, such as glass and aluminum, get broken or melted down by waste management services and can be reused again without deterioration. Other materials, such as plastics, are pelletized by the waste management company. These can then be quickly shipped and reused to manufacture several items.
Myth #4 – I Don’t Need To Separate My Recycling
This is true – to a point. Many waste management systems in Ontario use a single stream system where all recyclables are placed in one bin together to be sorted at the recycling depot. It is estimated that this single-stream system has dramatically increased participation in recycling programs and made it easier and cheaper to collect. Still, it has made it more expensive to sort. Make sure you check your local municipalities guidelines for recycling to ensure you are doing it right.
Myth #5 – I Don’t Need To Separate My Trash
This is a myth. Right now, the city of Toronto has a 26% contamination rate of its recycling – this means that 26% of the materials collected in recycling can’t be recycled and are sent directly to the dump. It is very important to separate garbage from recycling – and this includes items contaminated with food waste. Putting garbage and other items in the recycling can also be dangerous for workers and can damage machines as they sort.
Myth #6 – Products Made From Multiple Materials Can’t Be Recycled
The good news is that recycling technology is getting better and better every year, and now most systems can handle a broader range of items made of different kinds of materials.
This means you may not have to remove all those staples from your piles of paper, or the plastic windows from your bank envelopes, in the future. It is always a good idea to check with your municipality for exactly what materials they can handle, just in case.
Many systems are expanding their recycling capabilities every day. There are even new blue box pilot programs to deal with problem materials such as beverage coffee cups coated with plastic from places like Tim Hortons.
Myth #7 – Recycling Doesn’t Save Natural Resources
Ironically, this myth is a recycled version of Myth #1. Recycling reuses raw materials, meaning those same natural resources don’t have to be harvested or mined. If Waste Management Canada recycles 42 million tons of paper, they will save 714 million trees and 292 million gallons of water. That is a lot of protected forests and streams.
Myth #8 – You Can’t Recycle Biodegradable Plastic
While it is true that you can’t recycle biodegradable plastic in most recycling systems, this doesn’t mean you can stick them in your compost bin at home and hope for the best.
If not handled properly, biodegradable plastics break down into methane gas, a much more harmful greenhouse gas than CO2. Biodegradable plastics need industrial-scale composting to break down without causing further damage to the environment.
Some “degradable” plastics just break down into smaller “plastic” particles – while some break down into harmless carbon and water components. For this reason, the city of Toronto does not want biodegradable plastics in its recycling or organics stream – they belong in the garbage stream.
Myth #9 – Recycling is a Scam – It All Ends Up in The Landfill
You may have heard the urban myth that garbage collectors are dumping recycling into the same bin as trash. Although there is a shortage of places looking to buy low-quality materials such as certain plastics, and some plastic sorted for recycling has ended up at the landfill, most recycling is a sought-after commodity.
Many businesses can benefit from baling plastics to get a better return.
How You Can Do Your Part
So, what can you do to help improve the impact recycling has? Remember these tips to be a recycling pro:
- Rinse all your recyclables as food waste and particles can contaminate the good recycling and make them unrecyclable.
- Pay attention to the recycling rules in your community and know what can and can’t be recycled. Take all other items to the dump or a proper handling facility.
- Save your electronics, unused paints, household chemicals and other waste for your community waste days or take them to the dump to be appropriately disposed of.
- Many stores, such as Home Depot and Ikea, will take your old lightbulbs, batteries, and paint for recycling.