Recycling is becoming a common notion; something done without thought, to many people in our ever more socially-conscious world. To those who recycle, the idea of tossing out a bottle or jug is as taboo as passing up a $100 bill on the ground. Recycling is just something you do. To those who still haven’t joined the movement, well, let’s hope they see the light.
Recycling isn’t all sunshine and happiness, though. There are several factors that surround it that need to be addressed and ultimately fixed. This article will cover five such obstacles.
1) Availability. There are still places and towns that do not have recycling programs readily available for their citizens. This is a problem that is troubling because people who would otherwise recycle cannot do so. If your community doesn’t offer recycling please contact your local Chamber of Commerce or county seat to see what can be done to rectify this dilemma. Most likely if recycling isn’t available on a wide-scale in your area, there are options.
2) What can and cannot be recycled. Even if you live in an area where recycling occurs, it doesn’t mean that you will be able to recycle everything. Many towns will only accept glass, plastic (specific types), aluminum, and newspaper/magazines. Within each of these categories there will be further restrictions. Many places that take paper will not take glossy paper/advertisements. Many places won’t recycle cardboard if it has waxy layering (as is often found on milk/juice cartons). Some will only take certain types of plastic (not single-serving sized food containers…). It can be difficult to know exactly what will be accepted. Again, contact your local recycling center for rules and specifications.
3) Plastic bags. This is a huge issue. Most recycling centers are not equipped to sort plastic bags; the kinds like you get at any grocery store. These bags, or one-time use bags, will clog up the sorters and require a human touch to fix or sort out. Please, if you recycle, do not place your recyclables in plastic bags, and do not donate the bags themselves (unless you know that they can take them). It only makes things worse. It is better to reuse the bags or donate them at local grocery store drop-offs so they can be taken to places where they are equipped to deal with them. Better yet, stop using these bags all together. Use ‘green’ bags.
4) Poor sorting. If you are lucky enough to live near a large recycling center that allows you to drop off your items, please do the right thing and sort everything according to their regulations. Many facilities will have large metal drop off containers for you to use. They will be labelled with what you can put in each. They will be highly specific – green glass, brown glass, clear glass, detergent bottles, juice bottles, corrugated cardboard, paperboard… with their descriptions. If you use these places – sort, sort, sort. Do not just throw all plastic into one container. This is not cool. It only makes it harder for the recycling center to do their job.
5) Not everybody recycles. This is the biggest problem with recycling. We still live in a world where the majority of people fail to recycle. I’m sure you know somebody who tosses out plastic jugs or cans. It makes me cringe when I see it. I, literally, root through the garbage cans of certain family members and friends to remove the recyclable items that they throw out. Please spread the word. Make it easier for the non-recyclers to recycle. Get them recycling bins. Offer to collect the items for them. Do whatever it takes. Every little bit helps. Only together, can we solve this problem.