Everyone celebrated ‘Earth Day’ just recently, signifying their care and concern for the environment. That was even backed up by countless environmentalists around the world, calling on their governments to heed their warning about climate change.
Indeed, all these events are mere reflections of how much we love our planet, given that we are all tired of the pollution that seems to be causing unmitigated disasters around the world. That being said, everyone is doing their part to try and limit these said disasters, much so that they have begun to practice various recycling methods.
However, just because things are done with good intentions doesn’t mean that they are flawlessly executed all throughout. There are also misconceptions about recycling that can be detrimental to the cause.
If you want to know what these recycling mistakes are, look no further than our examples below.
1. All Plastic Bottles Can Be Recycled
The truth is that most plastics are not recyclable.
If you’ve been trying to do your part in making the world a better place, you’ve definitely been recycling your beverages and food containers. So you probably think that you’re doing a great job, especially given that you have seen these recycling bins now all over the place.
The thing is, you may be recycling these plastics, but it is likely not the right way. The thing is, most of the plastics that we use aren’t the ones that can be recycled. Even if they are, they are still hard to recycle.
You see, it’s because there are many kinds of plastics, and each of them needs to be processed in a different way. For example, you can’t mix PET and PVC plastics. This is because they are processed differently, and they can’t be recycled together.
The bottom line is that it’s very hard to identify what plastics to recycle and what plastics not to recycle. You might have a hard time identifying it based on the kind of plastic it is.
2. You Don’t Need to Sort Recyclables
Sorting your recyclables is a good thing.
The thing is, you can’t just dump your recyclables in a bin, thinking that they will all be recycled. Not only that, but you might even be putting your old recyclables at risk.
The truth is that you need to be more serious when you sort your recyclables. You should take the time to make sure that what you’re going to put into the bin is actually recyclable. There are even some items that you need to remove from your bin and recycle separately.
For example, for your green bin, you should remove any plastic bags and other non-recyclable items from it. You can then put your food waste, which is your kitchen food waste, into your green bin.
This then means that you will need to learn how to properly separate your recyclables.
3. It’s Easy to Tell if an Item Is Recyclable
It’s not as easy as you think.
While there are some items that you can easily identify if they are recyclable or not, there are also those items that are hard to identify.
The truth is that there are so many items that people think they can recycle, but they are actually not considered recyclable.
An example is an aluminium foil. You might think that a foil is easily recyclable since it is aluminium, but that is not the case. What needs to be done with a foil is to flatten it and then cut it into smaller pieces. This is so that it will be processed into a reusable aluminium foil.
Then there are also those items that you might think are recyclable, but they are not. A good example of this is plastic bags. You need to check if plastic bags are recyclable before you put them into your bin because you won’t be able to recycle them.
4. You Don’t Need to Be Picky About the Recyclables
You need to be picky.
As you can tell, it’s not as easy as you think to recycle.
This is because you’ve got to be picky about what you’re putting into your recycling bin. The truth is that you can’t just throw in anything you have and think that it will all be reused in the future.
For instance, you can’t recycle anything that is contaminated with food. You need to ensure that your green bin will only have items that are fit for the compost pile.
You also need to make sure that you don’t put in any items that you think are recyclable but are not.
5. You Don’t Need to Wash Out the Items Before You Recycle Them
You do need to wash out your recyclables.
There are some people who have the wrong idea that they need to wash out the items that they would like to recycle before they put them in the recycling bins. This is because they think that they will recycle faster if they do so.
However, this is not true. There is a recycling process that takes place after the items are dumped into the recycling bins.
So, if you will want to make sure that your recyclables are recycled fast, you need to make sure that they are free of contaminants. For example, you can’t recycle cans that are dented because it can cause contamination for the recycling process.
So, if you want to ensure that your recyclables can be recycled fast, don’t bother washing them out. You just need to make sure that they are clean and free of any contaminants.
6. It’s Easy to Recycle on Your Own
You need a lot of helping hands to do the right thing and to do it all well.
The truth is that to do recycling on your own; you need to have a big place to store your recyclables. You will also need to have a place to transport your recyclables when they are ready to be recycled.
Moreover, you will need to have the right guide to help you through the process of sorting your recyclables.
And it’s even more difficult if you want to create your own compost. This is because you need to have a steady supply of biodegradables for your compost pile. In fact, you need to have a steady supply of food waste that you can recycle.
This is why you need to have a local government help you out in your recycling endeavours.
Conclusion
As you can see, recycling is not as easy as it seems. While everyone is doing their part to maintain a clean environment, there are still some misunderstandings that they have about it.
So, if you want to be more effective with your recycling, we highly suggest that you don’t fall into the same trap as most people by committing the same recycling mistakes. You also need to call on for help if ever you are getting overwhelmed with the tasks.If you are looking for reliable skip hires in Cheshire for your recycling projects, look no further than our facilities here at Enviro Skip Hire. We are a family run skip hire and aggregate company servicing Staffordshire. Check out our website for our wide range of skip sizes and aggregates.
